Beneath The Owl's Wing: Part One
by gingersnapperr
Summary: Lauren McGwyn is a young girl starting her first year at Hogwarts. There, she will learn exactly who she is, why she is so powerful and exactly why Voldemort killed her father and wants her dead. She learns who she is through new friends, the young Marauders, as she goes through her first three years at Hogwarts.
1. Pickett and Daisy

A youthful soul can be either purely innocent, or innocently impure; it can be a calm tempest, a scholar in battle, an oasis in the desert. A child with a history of violence may grow into a pacifist, while a child with a history of hatred may grow to be corrupt. That was the difference between Lauren McGwyn and Tom Riddle.

Riddle was raised unwanted, unloved and alone. His muggle father, frightened by his magical mother, abandoned the pair before Riddle was born and his mother died in childbirth, leaving the infant Riddle with no one but himself. He was the innocently impure, the tempest, the warrior and the desert; he had been corrupted at a young age and was filled with a hatred for non-magical people, even those innocently unaware of Tom Riddle and what had happened to him. He was purely a Slytherin; fiercely ambitious, an appreciation for intelligence and its usefulness, loyal to whomever he chose to be loyal to, traditionalistic and a natural leader. For these reasons did no one suspect him of becoming one of the darkest wizards in magical history.

McGwyn was raised wanted, loved and alone. Her grandmother was once Athena Scamander, famed witch famous for her work in herbology, alchemy and magizoology, a powerful and noble witch that hailed from Ravenclaw house. Hailing from the Glens, the very place Rowena Ravenclaw herself was born only a millennium earlier, Lauren McGwyn was born to a loving father and a loving mother, Athena Scamander's only daughter. Lauren was purely a Ravenclaw, with a passion for knowing the unknown and learning all that she knew not, valuing knowledge for knowledge and not for usefulness, a lack of love of all things dangerous, introverted and keeping to herself, witty beyond measure and seeking peace in wisdom and not war. She was every bit like Tom Riddle, yet equally every bit opposite of him as well.

Slytherins and Ravenclaws naturally are very close in nature. They are witty, clever and ambitious, yet for different reasons. Ravenclaws favour knowledge for knowledge, while Slytherins favour knowledge for use; if the knowledge gained cannot be useful to the Slytherin, he will not retain it, yet the Ravenclaw seeks to learn all that is unknown to her. Slytherins tend to group together and be with others who are like them, while Ravenclaws tend to be individualistic and are difficult to group under one umbrella term, such as their own house name. They are curious and eccentric and can have passions that may seem bizarre or boring to the outside observer; Slytherins tend to be mysterious in nature and cannot be explained, whether it be to outside observers or even to themselves. Both houses are made of introverts, yet Ravenclaws prefer to follow their own path, while Slytherins tend to group together with like-minded individuals.

The Hufflepuffs shall not be forgotten, nor the Gryffindors. True Hufflepuffs are loving, warm and passionate towards all and tend to have open and inviting personalities; along with Ravenclaw, they tend to be the most open-minded individuals. They are social personalities, preferring to be in groups of people they hold near and dear to their hearts, and even new individuals having been welcomed into their groups. They are extroverts and prefer familiarity, tending to lean more towards what they know rather than what they do not. Like Slytherin, they prefer to learn skills and knowledge that seem practical to them. They are loyal to those closest to them, even willing to undergo being wronged to keep peace, where Gryffindors and Slytherins might fight back and Ravenclaws might end a friendship to avoid the headache.

Gryffindors tend to be passionate for what they hold dear to them and will defend those they love to no end. They are fearless in a sense that they will stand up for those who may not want to stand up for themselves or feel that they cannot. They prefer dealing directly, even if it means physical conflict. They, like Hufflepuff, are extroverted, yet individualistic like Ravenclaw. Unlike Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, they do not feel the need for groups of like-minded individuals, but they do prefer the company of friends. They seek glory in anything, whether it be passing an exam or moving up in their preferred field of work, and they hate being bored. Like Slytherin, they prefer what is useful to them as opposed to what is knowledgeable to them and prefer to learn of things that interest them. They are willing to fight, and have always been known as the brave and the bold.

Tom Riddle was born around thirty years before Lauren McGwyn was and attended Hogwarts around the same time as her own parents. Her father, Andrew McGwyn, a member of Ravenclaw house, was once a dear friend to Tom Riddle, having taken an interest in all Tom Riddle did purely for the idea that it was mostly forbidden knowledge, while Riddle learned the dark arts for his own personal gain. Fed by knowledge to the point of no control, Andrew McGwyn was roped into Riddle's plans for the desire to continue learning more, until Artemis MacDonald, also a member of Ravenclaw house and daughter of Athena Scamander, walked into his life. They were the same year, both of them, yet Andrew McGwyn had never noticed the young and beautiful Artemis, having been blinded by his love of learning. Andrew was a pureblood and Artemis was a half-blood, something Riddle used to attempt to discourage Andrew's interest in her, yet when she showed no interest in Andrew due to his dabbling in the dark arts, Andrew turned his attention from Riddle and their work and pursued Artemis. To Riddle, this was seen as an act of betrayal and he swore that Andrew and Artemis would pay the price.

Andrew and Artemis were married shortly after graduating from Hogwarts and immediately went on the run, as Tom Riddle was after their blood. A little over a decade, they ran and hid, eventually learning of Artemis's unexpected pregnancy when hiding in the Glens. There, they awaited the last ounce of hope that the young couple had. On the last day of the year 1959, Artemis went into labour, and in the early hours of the first of the new year, their daughter, Lauren, was born. For the following three years, they lived happily as a family, until Tom Riddle, then known to the world as Voldemort, somehow discovered their hiding place. Blowing the door down and surprising the family of three, Artemis scooped young Lauren into her arms and backed into a corner as Andrew faced the Dark Lord before him. "Artemis, take her and go! Go!" cried Andrew, looking back at his wife and daughter for the final time. With fear in her eyes, Artemis disapparated to safety, leaving Andrew to face the Dark Lord on his own. "It took you long enough to find me, Riddle," said Andrew, and the Dark Lord disarmed him the moment Andrew reached for his wand, followed by the cruciatus curse numbing Andrew all over his body with pain. When it finally stopped, Andrew huffed and puffed with the last remnants of his breath and looked the Dark Lord in the eye.

"I clearly won't be coming out of this alive... But I promise you, Tom Riddle, that I will not go down without a fight," were the last words uttered by Andrew McGwyn; he was found the next day with bruised and bloodied knuckles, suggesting he put up a fight before finally being killed. Artemis went into hiding with her only child, no word of her being heard of for many, many years. Lauren, however, was still a child and had to be cared for and educated - even Artemis knew her daughter would be safer attending Hogwarts, so as Lauren grew older and Riddle's hunt for Artemis grew more urgent, Artemis made arrangements for a dear friend of hers, Daisy Ridley, to run a greenhouse-type menagerie shop on Diagon Alley and to be able to take Lauren shopping when the time for her to go to Hogwarts came. It came a lot faster than Artemis could have ever predicted.

Seven years since Andrew McGwyn was murdered by Voldemort, Lauren received her Hogwarts letter providing her with the list of items she would need for school. It was a warm summer day when Daisy brought Lauren to Diagon Alley with her, the pair of them having travelled by the floo network from Daisy's home in the north of England, far from where Artemis had settled in the Scottish Glens. It was there where Lauren first met someone whom she would never have expected to change her life so drastically, and it started when she walked into the room to find Daisy in mid-conversation with a middle-aged witch with rich jet black hair, brilliant crystal blue eyes dressed in a formal royal purple Edwardian-style dress suit and her hair pulled back into an elegant Victorian style. She carried with her a silver umbrella that she used to assist her in walking, as she must have been near sixty years old, or at least that was what Daisy told her later, yet her hair and her face told outsiders that she was nearer forty; Daisy was thrilled to see her enter the shop.

"Euphemia Potter! How wonderful to see you, dear!" she cried with excitement, approaching the elegant woman at the door whom was being followed by what looked like her ten-year-old son.

"Good afternoon, Daisy," said Euphemia kindly, a gentle smile on her aging face.

"And this young sir must be James! My, he's getting so big. He's looking more and more like Fleamont every day," Daisy said, smiling at the young boy. "Why, hello there, James."

"Good afternoon, ma'am," said the young boy politely.

"Dare I ask how Artemis is doing, Daisy?" asked Euphemia, the pair of women walking further into the shop.

"She, too, is doing well. Have you heard about that Norman Thompson?" Daisy asked her as they reached the desk.

"It's a true shame, when a good wizard turns to the dark side. He was a good kid, I remember him well. Did he go to school with you and Artemis?"

"No, he was younger than us. Well, I suppose then yes but Artemis, Andrew and I were already in our sixth year when he entered his first."

"I fear greatly for the future of the wizarding world." Euphemia glanced longingly at her young son, whom was wandering around looking at all of the plants on display.

"He comes from a long line of very powerful wizards, Euphemia. I would not be worried about him. If he is anything like his father, that boy won't ever have to worry about his safety."

"I do so hope that you are correct, Daisy." She let out a sigh. "What of Lauren? The wizarding world is very eager to meet the young daughter of the Dark Lord's former closest friend."

"Lauren reminds me a lot of her father, but her grandfather, may he rest in peace, used to say to me how much she reminded him of her grandmother."

"Ah, yes, Athena Scamander. I met her once when I was a child; a very eccentric woman, very fitting for Ravenclaw house. But her brother, the magizoologist, was a quirky lad, wasn't he?"

"I never met any of the Scamanders, but I did so love that book that Mr. Scamander wrote. He did give Lauren a pet when she was seven, but I wasn't there for it. He went to visit Artemis, as she is his niece, after all, and gave Lauren a bowtruckle! Imagine that, giving a seven-year-old a bowtruckle! But she does love that thing, and she hasn't separated from it since. The thing wreaks havoc in this shop."

"He was always a clever man so he must have trusted that bowtruckle to be safe, or at least trusted her to be able to care for it, or perhaps both."

"Oh, perhaps." As Daisy and Euphemia continued their conversation, an upside down bowl began to move across the counter, noticed by Daisy, and when she lifted it, despite half-expecting, still screamed when the light green stick-like creature beneath it jumped onto her hand, and the small stick-like creature emitted a high-pitched, low-volume scream as well and was flung off the frightened Daisy's hand as young James ran over to see what was going on and the stick-like creature got tangled in his hair, causing him to panic as well. Hearing the noise, young Lauren McGwyn was summoned from the upstairs part of the shop and raced down the spiral steps, ran to the middle of the group and freed the light green stick-like creature from young James Potter's hair, taking it in her hands and comforting it.

"It's all right, Pickett, don't be frightened!" she cooed to the little creature.

"Don't be frightened? That bloody creature is out to get me!" Daisy shouted at Lauren.

"He doesn't like you, Aunt Daisy! He thinks you're too loud," Lauren said.

"Too loud indeed. Please, Lauren, get that thing out of this shop before it destroys something else!"

"He's too small to destroy anything! If anything is destroyed because of him, it's because you were frightened by him and destroyed something!" Lauren snapped, then with the bowtruckle in hand, she left the shop, Daisy fuming; curious young James simply couldn't resist following the young girl with the bowtruckle for a pet and so he did, coming across her sitting outside on a barrel talking to the bowtruckle. "It's okay, Pickett, you did nothing wrong! Aunt Daisy just... tends to be very timid towards small creatures. I know you're harmless."

"Is that a real bowtruckle?" asked the curious young boy, approaching very cautiously, and Lauren nodded.

"His name's Pickett. My Uncle Newt gave him to me," she replied, showing the young boy her pet.

"Are you going to Hogwarts this year? You can't bring bowtruckles, only an owl, a cat or a toad."

"I've heard of people having other pets. I see no reason why I can't take Pickett with me. He's small and he'd always be with me. Unless someone attacks me, he most likely won't hurt anyone. He's a relatively peaceful bowtruckle and doesn't have a violent tendency."

"Will your mum allow you to take him?"

"I don't see why not." She softly pet the leaves of the small bowtruckle as James took a moment to think of what next to say.

"What house do you think you'll be?" he asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Lauren replied. "What about you?"

"Gryffindor, definitely," said James. "Everyone in my family was a Gryffindor. I come from a very long line of Gryffindors."

"But does that really determine what house you're in? Family line?" asked Lauren.

"Of course it does. I'm from Godric's Hollow, where Godric Gryffindor was born. Hence why it's called Godric's Hollow. It wasn't called that when he was born there, and probably wasn't called that until after he died."

"That's a good guess. I'm from the Glens, where Rowena Ravenclaw was born. Does that mean I'll be a Ravenclaw?"

"No, you'll be a Ravenclaw because you're weird." She looked at him, confounded.

"Because I'm weird? I don't think that's a defining trait of Ravenclaw."

"Yes it is. Ravenclaws are exce... exsen..."

"Eccentric?"

"Yeah! And that means weird!"

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does! Mum says it's a very nice way of saying that someone's weird. She said our neighbour is eccentric and I asked him what his house was when he went to Hogwarts and he said it was Ravenclaw!"

"It just means that someone's behaviour is slightly strange or abnormal, by definition."

"Exactly, a nice way of saying 'weird'." Lauren rolled her eyes.

"You're right, you are a Gryffindor."

"Another Ravenclaw thing, they're snobs!"

"They are not! Ravenclaws are people with a desire for learning and sometimes, they can be a little eccentric."

"Only 'eccentric' people talk to bowtruckles."

"It's not like they're inanimate objects! Don't you have an interest?"

"Yes, Quidditch. I'm a little upset I can't play until my second year."

"And do you have any pregame rituals before you mount your broom?"

"I like to sweet talk my broom into giving me good luck."

"And you say I'm weird for talking to bowtruckles, which are actually alive."

"Different thing."

"How is it different?"

"It just is."

"Hmph." Another moment of silence passed. "I'm James. James Potter."

"My name's Lauren. Lauren McGwyn." James opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, I'm the daughter of Voldemort's best mate."

"How did you... Are you a legilimens?"

"Supposedly, Dad was... Mum said he tried to teach Tom Riddle legilimency when they were still friends but for Dad, it was an inherited natural ability and not necessarily something he could teach easily."

"That's so cool! A natural legilimens is so rare!" James exclaimed. "How does it feel being the one Voldemort's after?"

"I'm pretty sure it's my mother he's after."

"Oh, no, he's after you, too! Your dad was so powerful, and you're his daughter! He's bound to have passed some of that onto you!"

"Well..." They paused.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to... I thought you knew."

"It's all right."

"Do you have all your stuff for Hogwarts?" Lauren nodded. "What kind of wand do you have?"

"Acacia wood with a phoenix feather core, thirteen and a half inches with a 'slightly springy' flexibility, according to Mr. Ollivander. What?" The look on young James Potter's face was one of astonishment.

"You really are your father's daughter! If I know anything about wands at all, which I would because my mother has a big book called _Wands: Woods, Cores, Lengths and Flexibilities_ that she forced me to read a few times as punishment, then I can tell you that because that wand chose you, you're very powerful! Acacia wood is so rare and chooses powerful wizards, and so do phoenix feathers! I didn't even know Mr. Ollivander _combined_ those two things!"

"The proof is in Daisy's office upstairs still in its box."

"You haven't taken it out yet to test it?"

"I'm sure Mum will want me to when I get home. I was reading some of the books first. It's better to wield a wand with the knowledge of how to do it."

"Typical Ravenclaw." The two of them laughed lightly as Euphemia Potter exited the shop with Daisy standing behind her in the doorframe; the pair of them were at the end of a deep and private conversation.

"I agree, Daisy. We shall have to see what Dumbledore says about all of this, won't we?" Euphemia asked Daisy.

"Oh, yes, we shall. It's been good to see you, Euphemia," Daisy replied.

"And you, dearest. Come on, James, it's time to go home," Euphemia said to her young son.

"Guess I'll be seeing you at Platform 9¾, Lauren!" James said to his new friend, and the mother and son pair left. Young James Potter was the first non-creature or non-adult friend that Lauren had ever had, so already, she was more than excited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	2. The North Uist Cottage

"Lauren! Have you got your trunk packed yet or not?" called Artemis McGwyn from the lower floor of their cottage, positioned on a ledge perhaps twenty-five feet from the sand of the beach below, hidden away on the island of North Uist in Scotland.

"Mum, I don't go to Hogwarts for another week!" Lauren called down, her nose buried in an old album she had found in her mother's room.

"It can't hurt to be prepared early! When you're off to Daisy's in Yorkshire, you won't want to forget anything!" Artemis replied as the kettle on the stove began to scream. She pulled it from the stove and poured some of it in a cup, stirring in a bit of sugar and taking a sip before grimacing slightly. "May the Lord bless poor Daisy's heart, giving us Typhoo. English tea always tastes so bitter. Lauren, are you listening to me?"

"You can always owl me anything I forget, Mum!" Lauren replied.

"Lauren Athena, you know how dangerous it can be to owl things frequently. If you must owl anything, you're to owl it to the menagerie and Daisy will bring it to me," said Artemis, stirring in more sugar. Lauren was admiring a picture of her parents at school - the caption beneath it said 'Andrew and Artemis Seventh Year 1943' and the pair of them were embracing and smiling and waving at the camera, young and free and happy. Her father was a rather handsome man with dark hair and light eyes, although the colour wasn't visible because the photograph was in black and white. In reality, he had brown hair and crystal blue eyes and he was as handsome as ever. He was much beloved by many not just for his handsome looks but for his charming personality. He was a powerful wizard who had a slightly natural ability in legilimens, traits that were rumoured to be possessed by his distant ancestor, Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Dad had a passion for living, didn't he, Mum?" Lauren asked her mother quietly, detecting her mother behind her.

"Yes, he was, and he loved you so much. He had many rare talents and they used to frighten me. I told you once about how your father was once good friends with Voldemort, did I not?" Lauren nodded.

"When I was eight."

"Daisy told me that I shouldn't be telling you stuff like that, that I should wait until you're older, but you're so mature and understanding for your age. You always were. But yes, he and Voldemort - or rather, Tom Riddle, as he was called back then - were very good friends. Riddle wanted to study the dark arts for power, while your father just wanted to learn something new. He could already do so much, cast a full-bodied patronus, legilimency and occlumency - he was naturally gifted at that, same as his mother. The two of them would have many silent conversations, it was frightening. Do be mindful of your own natural gift, Lauren, you might frighten some of the kids - but anyway, he could already do so much and like the Ravenclaw that he was - and I don't just mean as a member of the house, but also as a member of the Ravenclaw bloodline - he just wanted to learn more. And Riddle - that frighteningly mysterious boy - wanted to learn for power, so who better to recruit than a Ravenclaw who will stop at nothing to learn all that they can? No one ever knew where Riddle came from. He didn't ever talk about his past or his family. He was quiet, but still a model student, and everything he became was so unexpected."

"You don't have to talk about him if he makes you upset, Mum."

"How would you know he... Lauren, stop that. You know I don't like that."

"I'm sorry, Mum, but I can't help it."

"You can, it's called read about it and learn how to control it. People don't like it when you invade their thoughts." Lauren closed the book in her lap and set it aside, standing.

"I'm already fully packed, if you must know. Why did you put a Ravenclaw scarf on my bed?"

"Because you're nothing else but a Ravenclaw. You're not loud and boisterous, you're not evil and power-hungry, you're not... whatever Hufflepuff is... You are purely a Ravenclaw and right now, you are the heir of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"I haven't even been sorted yet."

"I know that. But when you are, I will be very surprised if you are sorted in anything but Ravenclaw. Imagine that, Rowena's heir being put into bloody Gryffindor? I hate Gryffindors, never got along with them. They're too loud."

"That isn't very nice, Mum."

"No, I suppose it's not. I don't like Slytherins either, with their hatred of muggles and all things non-magic and their obsession with power and the concept of pure blood. Riddle hated the fact that he was a half-blood and I'd swear on my life he killed his father because he was a muggle. Never trusted a Hufflepuff either, there's something about that overwhelmingly nice personality that seems untrustworthy."

"Daisy was a Hufflepuff."

"And she's also the only friend that remained when your father and I went on the run."

"So then you should trust Hufflepuffs considering our secret keeper is one."

"You shouldn't know about that."

"I won't tell anyone. Your tea's getting cold."

"It's Typhoo, it doesn't taste good hot or cold."

"Try it with some milk, that's what Daisy does."

"Daisy is Welsh and she puts her milk in before the water. That is strange and unacceptable behaviour in the tea-drinking community." Lauren had a laugh at her mother's quirkiness.

"Whatever you say, Mum," Lauren said, and she left the room to go for a short walk outside. Watching her daughter walk along the shoreline, with her feet sinking in the sand and the waves crashing against her calves, Artemis pondered whether or not Lauren would truly be safer at Hogwarts. It would be the first time, other than Lauren's adventure at Diagon Alley, since she and Andrew had left Hogwarts that any McGwyn made a public appearance. For their connection to Voldemort, she would be known by many and most likely questioned, possibly teased for her eccentricity and quirkiness. She was a very strange child, having been raised alone and having a bowtruckle for a best friend. The other children would surely tease and torment her for that. But it was too late, Lauren was well prepared and ready to go to Hogwarts whether Artemis was prepared or not. That girl was going to change the world, just like her distant ancestors did and just like her father was going to do.

Suddenly, Artemis felt something crawl on her hand and she shrieked in terror, shaking her hand to get whatever it was off, and holding onto her finger so tightly that her skin was starting to break was little light-green Pickett, frightened out of his mind. With a sigh, Artemis set him on the windowsill and freed her now bleeding finger from his grasp. "Sorry, Pickett, you frightened me! You're not going with her, you know. Hogwarts doesn't allow bowtruckles."


	3. The Journey And The Sorting

"Have you got Pickett? Lauren, I said have you got Pickett?" Lauren came down the stairs with a perplexed expression.

"You said I couldn't have him at Hogwarts?" she replied, marvelling at her mother's change of mind.

"Yes, I know, and you shouldn't have him, but he's small and as long as he doesn't hurt anyone, you can have him. If I hear of any issues, you're to send him straight to Hogsmeade to meet Daisy and she'll bring him home. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's in my pocket. Can you help me with my trunk now?"

"Yes, of course." A week had passed, and Lauren was now getting ready to travel to Hogwarts. The pair of them retrieved Lauren's trunk from her bedroom upstairs and as they were nearing the bottom step, green flames erupted in the fireplace and out stepped Daisy Ridley in a travelling cloak, her short dark brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"It's nearly ten-thirty! We've got to go!" she cried, tapping her watch with her wand.

"Right! Lauren, give me a quick hug. This is the first time we'll have been separated for an extended period of time and I want to make sure you'll be all right," Artemis said, pulling her daughter into a tight hug.

"I'll be fine, Mum! I will be!" Lauren cried, irritated.

"Are you sure? You don't have to go if you don't want to. Many children are schooled in magic at home," Artemis replied.

"I'm sure, Mum. I've got to go! I'll write as soon as I'm sorted," Lauren replied, freeing herself from her mother's grasp and moving towards her trunk.

"All right... Be safe and if anyone gives you a hard time, just ignore them."

"I know, Mum. I can handle myself. I'm not just ten, you've said so yourself, I'm more mature for my age."

"Lauren, remember what we talked about regarding legilimency."

"I know, I know."

"We've got to go now!" Daisy cried, interrupting the conversation.

"All right, all right. Lauren, sweetheart, I love you so much. Please don't forget that," Artemis told her daughter.

"I love you, too, Mum. I'll write when I get there, I promise, but I've got to go!" Lauren cried, lifting her trunk and dragging it to the fireplace.

"All right, all right, go. I'll have Daisy send your owl when you get there. Be safe! I love you!" With that final word, Lauren and Daisy disappeared in the engulfing lime green flame, leaving Artemis alone in the small cottage.

The pair emerged in a quiet, unsuspecting room with four fireplaces, each linked to the floo network. They first had to travel to Daisy's home in Yorkshire before travelling to King's Cross Station because the McGwyn cottage is unlinked from the floo network when not in use, to avoid any unwanted visitors. At thirty-nine minutes past ten in the morning, Daisy rushed Lauren out of the small and unsuspecting room, with a sign on the door saying 'Authorised Personnel Only', and put her trunk on a nearby empty trolley, taking full control of it and wheeling it towards the platforms. "Now remember, we're looking for Platforms 9 and 10," Daisy said with a sense of urgency in her voice.

"But I thought we were going to Platform 9¾?" asked Lauren. "Oh, it's a magical barrier between Platforms 9 and 10? That's cool!"

"Didn't your mum say not to use legilimency on people?" Daisy asked as they sped through the station.

"I'm sorry, I can't really help it sometimes," Lauren said.

"The library's full of books about legilimency and occlumency and how to control it. Just ask Madame Pince about them, or explain to your head of house that you have a natural gift for legilimency and would like to learn how to control it," Daisy said.

"Is there really a way to control it?" asked Lauren inquisitively.

"Other than not answering people's thoughts out loud, I'm not sure. I'm not a legilimens so I know nothing of it," Daisy replied. "Here we are! Grab onto this and we'll run at it together, all right?" Lauren nodded. "Ready? One... two... three!" Together, the pair of them ran at the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, not slamming into the brick barrier but instead, gliding through it as if it weren't really there. Laughing, Lauren and Daisy emerged on the other side, onto Platform 9¾, and continued on towards the grand Victorian-era steam locomotive. It was a beautiful black cast iron steam engine with a whistle that declared fifteen minutes before the hour. "Perfect timing! We have plenty of time to load your trunk and get you settled."

On the platform were many families hugging and saying their goodbyes until the holiday season; some of the kids saying goodbye to their parents were older, closer to fifteen, sixteen and even seventeen, and many others were younger, closer to Lauren in age. Many looked confused, some looked frightened, some looked excited and some looked sad, but Lauren was excited. She'd dreamed of Hogwarts ever since she was a little girl and now, that dream was a reality. A school far away where she would be learning to master magic and become the powerful witch that she was born to be; suddenly her thoughts fell to James Potter, wondering where he could be, when Daisy suddenly waved to a familiar face. "Euphemia, hello!" she called to the elegant Euphemia Potter, who smiled and began to approach.

"Good morning, Daisy, how do you do?" she said, greeting the younger woman.

"Just fine and dandy, getting this one sent off to Hogwarts for Artemis," Daisy replied, her hands on Lauren's shoulders.

"Artemis still in hiding? Where's she ended up these days?" asked an older wizard who was with Euphemia, whom Lauren assumed to be her husband and James's father.

"Fleamont Potter, you cheeky thing, I can't say! She absolutely refuses to live in Wales, though, I don't know why. Wales is a beautiful country," Daisy replied. "Is James already on the train? He and Lauren are already well acquainted."

"Yes, he met a young brown-haired boy. He looked rough, that boy, scratches all over his face and hands. But the parents were very kind. The mother was a Welsh muggle, speaking of Wales," Euphemia told her.

"Oh, was she? She must have been delightful, after all, all Welsh people are!" Daisy said proudly, being startled by the ten-minute-warning whistle. "All right, Lauren, we'd best get you on the train or you'll miss it! It was wonderful to see you both, Euphemia and Fleamont, and we shall have to get tea sometime together. Now Lauren, I will take your trunk down there to the man loading them on the train and you get on and find a compartment. Don't terrorise kids with that pet you've got and-"

"Don't reply to people's thoughts out loud, yes, I know. And I could have guessed that you were going to say that without legilimency because it's what Mum always says to me," Lauren replied, and Daisy smiled.

"You're a good girl, Lauren, always have been. I know you'll do well at Hogwarts. Now give me a hug and get your bum on that train!" With a laugh, the pair of them shared a hug. "Don't forget to write as soon as you're sorted! And tell us all about it. Your Mum thinks you'll be sorted immediately while I believe the hat will converse with you before sorting you. We've got a bet on it too, with some galleons."

"Aunt Daisy!"

"Oh, hurry up then! I can't wait to get that letter. Go on, then!" With a final smile, Lauren climbed the train, watching Daisy bring the trolley with her trunk down to the end of the train. She began to search for compartments, finding many of them full, before finally settling on one that had a young boy about her age with dark curly hair.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, and he shook his head as she entered the compartment. "Are you a first year, too?" She didn't have to ask, but he nodded anyway. "I'm Lauren McGwyn. And you're Sirius Black? Oh! I'm sorry!" She covered her mouth, embarrassed, as he gave her a perplexed expression.

"How do you know my name? I haven't even given it to you yet!" he said. "Are you... Are you a-"

"Legilimens? Sort of. I can't read everything, just sometimes I can look into someone's head and either read their thoughts or read them. But not all of the time. Most of the time, I'm just a really good guesser. Mum thinks I inherited it from Dad," Lauren replied.

"Are you a pureblood then?" asked young Sirius seemingly with disgust, and she shook her head.

"Dad was, and Mum would have been had Grandmum not married a muggle," she replied. "I found a letter once, written by my grandmother to her brother about how she said she'd married a muggle because she wanted the power in her bloodline to diminish. She was so powerful that sometimes, it caused her trouble. She was a potioneer and a herbologist and sometimes, the magic she'd do was too strong and she didn't want her children suffering from that, I guess."

"That makes sense. My family would have loved to be so powerful that they can hardly control it, but they're not. I'm a pureblood, and my family is full of nasty Slytherins who pride themselves on being great and 'pure' and hate muggles," Sirius said with disgust. "I hate my family."

"That's not very fair. I lost my-"

"Dad when you were young because he was killed by Voldemort? I don't have to be a legilimens to know that," said Sirius with a playful smirk. "Every pureblood family knows about Andrew McGwyn and his 'ultimate betrayal' to Voldemort. I just thought he was being smart, leaving the dark arts for a family."

"Yes, I suppose he was," said Lauren, then turning her attention to the sliding door of the compartment where, perhaps three seconds after she turned her attention to it, James Potter and the young boy his mother had mentioned on the platform appeared and opened it.

"Everywhere else is full, do you mind if we... Lauren! Fancy seeing you here," said James Potter, entering the compartment and plopping himself down beside Sirius and across from Lauren, while the other boy sat beside the window next to Lauren. "How's that bowtruckle?" Lauren had already been pulling him out of her pocket when he began his question and held Pickett in her hands while the other two boys drew closer to get a better look.

"Is that a real bowtruckle?" asked the light-brown-haired boy beside Lauren, watching as the bowtruckle glanced at the small crowd in wonder.

"Yup. His name's Pickett. My Uncle Newt gave him to me," said Lauren.

"Newt as in Newt Scamander," James told the group. "And her grandmother is Athena Scamander!"

"Really? Athena Scamander? That makes sense with what you said about her being powerful!" cried Sirius, and Lauren nodded.

"Mum never really talked about her, nor did she really know her. She died when Mum was really young," Lauren said.

"That's very sad," said the brown-haired boy. "I'm Remus by the way. Remus Lupin." Lauren suddenly got a strange feeling about him, detecting immediately that the boy had a deep secret, but not knowing exactly what it was. She couldn't read him no matter how hard she tried, despite Sirius being so easy to read.

"I'm Sirius Black," said Sirius.

"You're a Black?" said James, sounding slightly disgusted.

"I'm not like the rest of my family, I promise! I never have been! I've never felt like I belonged there," Sirius defended himself.

"Well... If you don't hate non-magic people then I guess you're all right," said James with a smile.

"I'm assuming you're Lauren McGwyn? I read about your family in the Daily Prophet when they had an article about them a few years ago," Remus said to Lauren.

"I remember that article. 'Voldemort after the murder of Andrew McGwyn' I think was the title. I was always fascinated with the idea that he fought back without a wand. He must have done some damage if his hands were bloodied!" James said excitedly.

"I wouldn't know, I was only three," said Lauren.

"Is anyone going to try out for the Quidditch team next year?" asked Sirius, interrupting the moment of silence.

"I am for sure! I plan on someday being captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team!" James replied proudly.

"You're sure you're going to be a Gryffindor?" Sirius asked him.

"Oh believe me, he's certain," said Lauren. "Only a Gryffindor can be convinced that they're going to be a Gryffindor."

"I don't know what house I'm going to be in," said Sirius in a disappointed tone. "Probably Slytherin I guess, everyone in my family has been a Slytherin. I don't think I'd belong in Slytherin."

"Neither do I, which is why I don't think you will be. The sorting hat will tell you where it thinks you belong," James told him. Suddenly, the whistle went off one final time, signalling eleven o'clock, and three of the four first year students leapt out of their seats and crossed the train to the windows to wave goodbye to their parents - or, in Lauren's case, her guardian - as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station and made its way towards the north of Scotland, where Hogwarts was located.

"I've been reading _Hogwarts: A History_ since Mum and Dad got it for me in Diagon Alley and it lists the last known descendants of original founders! It says here that the last living descendant of Godric Gryffindor is Moira Higgens, a half-blood, the last living descendant of Helga Hufflepuff is Hepzibah Smith, a pureblood, the last _known_ descendant of Salazar Slytherin was Marvolo Gaunt and the last living descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw is Andrew McGwyn, both purebloods. But that can't be right," Remus said, picking his head up from the book. "Lauren, you're the last living descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"That book is updated every twenty years, if Lauren's father was still alive in 1960 - which he had to have been if he was killed when she was three and we were all born in 1960 - We were all born in 1960, right?" James began, looking around at everyone.

"I was born in 1959," Sirius said, raising a hand.

"Fine, you old fizzing whizbee. But anyway, if we were all born _around_ 1960, then he still would be alive and in hiding when this was updated. So they didn't know Lauren was even around until Voldemort found the family and killed him in 1963. Therefore, this book will be incorrect until 1980," James said proudly.

"Maybe you'll be sorted into Ravenclaw instead if you've got deduction skills like that," said Lauren, teasing.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," James said while the other two boys chuckled. Again, Lauren turned her head towards the door right before two girls, one with dark black hair and an olive complexion and one with bright red hair, and a boy with long black greasy hair stopped at the door, then decided to move on. "That's creepy how you can just detect things like that and read people's minds, Lauren." She turned her attention to him.

"I don't mean to. It just sort of... happens. But sometimes, I just happen to hear someone say, 'Let's try that carriage there' and of course I'll look and see if they meant ours," Lauren said matter-of-factly, and again, the other two boys laughed at James's expense.

"She was kind of pretty, that girl," said James quietly.

"Who, the dark-haired girl? She was... I can't wait to find out her name," said Sirius in response.

"No, I meant the redhead," said James.

"I think her name was Elizabeth. That's what she was called as they were walking away from our carriage," Lauren said.

"Who, the redhead?"

"No, the dark-haired girl. The redhead called her that."

"Ooh, I like that. 'Elizabeth'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Sirius asked the group, and everyone else laughed.

Throughout the rest of the journey, the four of them learned more about each other and found they all had much more in common than they'd initially thought. It was evident that both Remus and Lauren were more quiet, while James and Sirius were more loud, and Lauren tried to sort them in her head. James she knew for sure would be a Gryffindor, and she had a hunch that Remus would be in Ravenclaw; Sirius she had no clue about, but she certainly didn't think he'd belong in Slytherin. He just didn't fit there and wouldn't belong.

It was nighttime when the train finally pulled into the station at Hogsmeade and the four young first years stared out the window in hopes of getting a glimpse of Hogwarts through the rain splattering against the windows, but there was nothing that could be seen except their own reflections. "I heard that first years have to travel to Hogwarts across the lake in the boats but it's raining so hard... Do you think they'll make us do that?" asked Sirius, concerned.

"I hope not," said Lauren. "It's raining so hard, we can barely see out there."

"Guess there's only one way to find out," said James, and the four of them left the compartment, joining the flood of students trying to get off of the train. Some of the older students already had cast a spell that mimicked an umbrella while some muggleborns had pulled out actual umbrellas.

"Fers' years over here! Fers' years!" called a hoarse and frightening voice that emanated from a large cloaked figure beneath a large umbrella surrounded by many other small children around their age. The group was confused, and Lauren could hardly understand what the rather large man with the hoarse voice was saying but it sounded like he said something about boats. Lauren and the other children certainly weren't expecting to cross a large inky black lake in the pouring rain. Though it was difficult to see through the raindrops, the silhouette of a lighted up Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry loomed in the distance and disappeared as the enchanted boats that seated four to six students each floated into the darkened boathouse, lit only by the oil lamp held by the large unsettling figure commanding the enchanted boats.

"Follow me, everyone! Don' lag behind now! Don' want ter miss the sortin' ceremony!" he said cheerfully, and he started up the very long and uncovered stairway that led seemingly to nowhere.

"That can't be safe," Remus muttered quietly. "I mean, we're already soaked and now we've got to climb those dark stone steps. They're surely very slippery!"

"Imagine them in the winter," said Lauren with a bit of a laugh, used to being wet from living on an island in Scotland.

"I don't understand what kind of school allows this! This should be illegal!" Remus cried as the group climbed the stairs.

"Just imagine if a headmistress of a primary school saw this!" said a young girl with short brown shoulder-length hair. "Were you confused about the letter being delivered by some old man in what looked like a bathrobe calling you a witch?" Remus laughed.

"Actually, my father is a wizard so it wasn't shocking," he replied. "My mother's a muggle, though, so I went to public school. At least, for a little while." He went quiet.

"A muggle? What's a muggle?" asked the girl who was clearly muggleborn.

"They're people who can't do magic," said Sirius.

"Oh... I guess that means my parents are muggles... Is it a bad term?" asked the girl; at this point, they were about halfway up the stairs.

"Depends on who you ask," said James. "Ask a Slytherin and they'll say yes but if you ask us, then we'll say no."

"What's a Slytherin?" asked the girl, and James laughed.

"You'll know when you see one," James replied. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Mary. Mary Montgomery, and you?" she replied.

"I'm James Potter, and this here is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Lauren McGwyn," James told her.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you all," Mary huffed, starting to lose her breath. "I think I can see the top from here..."

"Finally," Sirius puffed, collapsing on the ground as he climbed the last step. He nearly knocked a sharp-featured dark-haired boy over, who scoffed and shoved him away.

"Watch it! Or else," he snapped, and he continued on his way.

"That, Mary Montgomery, is a guaranteed Slytherin," said James once Sirius was standing again.

"Could have been a Ravenclaw. You seem convinced that they're snobs," said Lauren in a teasing manner, and the group continued on until they crossed the courtyard and finally entered the Entrance Hall.

"Finally, no rain!" Sirius cried, wringing out his hair and his robes.

"We're soaked! How are we supposed to get sorted now? We look terrible!" cried a blonde-haired girl, whose blond hair was so soaked it looked brown. Suddenly, the tall grand doors of a rather large room opened and out came a middle-aged woman dressed in emerald green robes, closing the door behind her and looking at the crowd of soaked students.

"This won't do..." she said, and with a wave of her wand, a burst of air went through the crowd of students and suddenly, each of them were bone dry. Some of them were amused, some frightened, and some had no reaction at all; in the back, a student was crying and Lauren whispered something to James about how that student had fallen into the lake and was almost forgotten ("How do you know that? Nevermind..." James had said in response). "Silence, please. Welcome to Hogwarts, students. I am Professor McGonagall and you will all learn Transfiguration from me. We are very glad to have each and every one of you here. In a few moments, you will be brought before the Sorting Hat and sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Some of you know what this means, I am certain that some of you can guess what house you will be and some of you are hearing of this for the very first time. This ceremony dates back about one thousand years to when the original founders of Hogwarts first opened this school. Your house will be your family; you will dine with them, study with them, sleep with them and share a living place with them. There are many activities and clubs at this school that you may join that have teams of each house, or sometimes are a combination of all four houses. What house you are sorted in does not reflect your personality, but instead, your values, and you will be placed with like-minded individuals who will make the next seven years of study here more bearable. Now, if you will follow me in an orderly fashion." She turned on her heel and pushed open the grand large doors and walked into the Great Hall, the astonished first years staring up at the enchanted cloudy ceiling dotted with floating candles that hovered over four long wooden tables that were filled with a sea of black. Each grand mahogany table had a house-themed runner that extended from one end of the table to the other - one in red, one in yellow, one in blue and one in green. In front of them was another long mahogany wooden table perpendicular to the ones where the older students were seated at, where many other older witches and wizards sat - professors, most likely. The room went silent, and the hat started reciting what sounded like poetry; unfortunately, Lauren was too interested in the sights around her, in the intricate detail and of the incredible realistic sky above her head, to pay attention to the hat. The sound of thunderous clapping startled her back into reality; she knew the hat was going to say that Gryffindor was for the brave, Hufflepuff was for the loyal, Ravenclaw was for the intelligent and Slytherin was for the ambitious anyway. Professor McGonagall stood by a short stool, lifting up an old hat and enchanting a scroll to open before her. "Now, when I call your name, you will sit on the stool and I will place the hat on your head and you will be sorted into your house. Gryffindors are to go to the table in red, Hufflepuffs to the table in yellow, Ravenclaws to the table in blue and Slytherins to the table in green. Now, Aberforth, Jennifer?"

A young girl with long brown hair draped over her shoulders in braids approached the stool and sat down, McGonagall lowering the hat onto her head. "Ah!" said the hat, startling some of the students. "I see friendship in your head, and many other qualifying traits. Better be... Hufflepuff!" The Hufflepuff table cheered, glad to have the first student of the sorting ceremony entering their house.

"Anderson, Hannah," said McGonagall, and a young girl with curly dirty blonde hair approached the stool; she, too, was sorted into Hufflepuff. "Avery, Saros." The young boy that had snapped at Sirius outside then approached the stool and was immediately sorted into Slytherin.

"Told you," James whispered to Mary and Lauren.

"Black, Sirius," said McGonagall, and many students trained their eyes on the dark-haired boy that nervously approached the stool. He was terribly afraid of being sorted into Slytherin, a place he wouldn't belong, but he was also terrified of being sorted into any other house in fear of being judged; as a Black, he should be in Slytherin. He stopped short of the stool, staring at the hat in fear. "Come, come. There are many other students waiting to be sorted."

"C-can't I go last?" Sirius muttered quietly.

"Mr. Black, please sit on the stool," said McGonagall fiercely, and Sirius fearfully sat on the stool, his eyes closed as the hat lowered onto his head.

"A Black, I see. There are many of you here," said the hat. "I have sorted many Blacks into Slytherin. Don't be nervous, boy; a small handful have been other houses. You don't have the same thoughts as your relatives, but many of the same personality traits. However, I see that you would not fit in with the others... Better be... Gryffindor!" Sirius felt his stomach drop; Ravenclaw might have acceptable, and Hufflepuff could have been accepted over time, but Gryffindor? The enemy house of Slytherin? Surely, Sirius would be receiving a howler from his mother about that. He glanced over to the disapproving face of his cousin, Narcissa, a blonde-haired young woman now in her sixth year, and he thought he detected some sympathy from his cousin, Andromeda, a brown-haired young woman in her seventh year and Narcissa's older sister.

"Mr. Black, please join your table," said McGonagall, and Sirius jumped up and hid himself among the Gryffindors at the table. "Evans, Lily." The redheaded girl that had walked past James and everyone else's cabin on the train suddenly sat on the stool, and the hat was placed on her head.

"New to the magical world, I see. And I also see that you are enjoying it. I see that you wish to learn all you can about the magical world. However, Ravenclaw wouldn't suit you. I fear they would chew you to pieces with these thoughts that I can see. Better be... Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table applauded, and Lily joined them at their table; the dark-haired boy she was with seemed disappointed. The next student, Olivia Eolien, was sorted into Ravenclaw. Catherine Finnigan was sorted into Gryffindor, Angus Fletcher was sorted into Ravenclaw, Isobel Frost was sorted into Hufflepuff, Richard Griffiths was sorted into Ravenclaw, Gregory Goyle was sorted into Slytherin and so was Cheyenne Hawking; the dark-haired girl earlier seen with Lily Evans, Elizabeth Hawking, was sorted into Gryffindor. Pandora Higgens, a beautiful young girl with long platinum blonde hair tied in a low ponytail, was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Farrah Hossain, Sabrina Jameson and Melanie Janeway were all sorted into Hufflepuff; Xenophilius Lovegood, a long-haired platinum blonde boy, was sorted into Ravenclaw, and he sat with Pandora Higgens.

"Lupin, Remus," said McGonagall, and Remus then approached and sat on the stool.

"Interesting... interesting... your past proves your bravery, and therefore, you must be in Gryffindor!" cried the hat, and Remus joined Sirius at the Gryffindor table.

"McGwyn, Lauren," said McGonagall, and a few audible gasps were heard, and a wave of whispers crossed the room. The Slytherins eyed her carefully, while everyone else seemed concerned, worried or even frightened.

"It can't be safe to have her here," whispered a Hufflepuff girl. "What if the Dark Lord comes looking for her?"

"Don't be silly, Enid," said her companion. "Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed her to come here if it wasn't safe for the rest of us." Lauren sat on the stool and the hat was placed on her head.

"Ah... Interesting to see another McGwyn. I haven't sorted a McGwyn in quite some time. You know, the McGwyns were marvelously talented wizards and descendants of the great Rowena Ravenclaw herself. I see many of her family traits in you... And do I detect a natural talent of... yes... I know exactly where to put you. Ravenclaw!" cried the hat, and Lauren smiled, knowing where she belonged even before the hat told her. She joined her fellow Ravenclaws at the table, smiling at James, who was still in the crowd of students to be sorted.

"McKinnon, Marlene," said McGonagall, continuing as if nothing eventful even happened. Marlene McKinnon was sorted into Ravenclaw, and following her, Mary Montgomery was sorted into Gryffindor - she joined Remus and Sirius - Ian Moss was sorted into Ravenclaw and Elisabeth Myers was sorted into Slytherin. "Pettigrew, Peter." A young timid boy with sandy blonde hair - the one who had fallen into the lake - nervously climbed the short stairs leading to the stool and sat down, McGonagall placing the hat on his head.

"Hmm... Interesting... Interesting, interesting... Hmm...," the hat began. "I can see inside your head what many others around you cannot see, and that is an ambition to be great. I am unsure whether or not you can see it, but I can. It is buried here, deep inside your head. Hmm... A desire to achieve greatness is a trait possessed by those in Slytherin, and who doesn't want to be great? But Slytherins want it the most out of every house. Slytherins want to be great all around; Ravenclaws desire to be great through learning, Hufflepuffs want to be great through relationships and Gryffindors want to be great through their chivalry and bravery. I can see here that you are certainly no coward, despite acting like it. What is it you truly fear, boy?"

"I... I don't know... Death?" asked young Peter Pettigrew.

"Ha!" laughed the hat. "Everyone fears death, my boy. What is a young boy such as yourself doing in fear of death?" The hat paused as it read young Pettigrew's head. "Ah... I see the origin of your nerves. Poor boy... There are many like you here that I have seen, and many of them indeed have gone to Slytherin." The hat paused again as Pettigrew glanced over at the Slytherin table, where quite a number, both boys and girls, suddenly glanced down in shame. "No... No, no, you don't belong in Slytherin. I can see now that you don't belong there. What you have become from your experience is very uncommon in Slytherin, and therefore... Gryffindor!" After the five-minute-long hat stall, the Gryffindor table cheered, and McGonagall removed the hat from the young boy's head as he bounded over to the Gryffindor table.

"Phillips, Owen," said McGonagall once the cheers had subsided; he was immediately sorted into Hufflepuff. "Potter, James." Proudly, James Potter strut up to the stool and sat down, the hat being placed on his head.

"A Potter! How refreshing. Bold, brave and proud as any Potter before you. The choice is obvious; Gryffindor!" shouted the hat, and James winked at Lauren with a playful smirk before strutting to where Lily Evans was seated, conveniently across from Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and sat down beside her. Finally, the remaining students were sorted - Ophelia Rosier and Perseus Rowle were sorted into Slytherin, Elvira Sallow went to Ravenclaw, Elara Selwyn, the blonde girl whom had initially complained about being wet, went to Slytherin, and a set of near-identical twins, Elvis and Rebecca Smith both went to Hufflepuff.

"Snape, Severus," said McGonagall, and the greasy-haired boy with the long black hair approached the stool and sat down.

"Peering into your head, there is no doubt where you belong... But be mindful of your tongue, or you will lose those closest to you. Slytherin!" shouted the hat. Eight students left; near identical twins Raven and River Solidago both went to Ravenclaw, Jane Sutton, a meek young girl with medium-length brown hair, went to Gryffindor, John Stebbins went to Ravenclaw, Dafydd Talog went to Hufflepuff, Cyprus Timmerman and Oberon Yaxley went to Slytherin and Adrian Ziegler went to Gryffindor. At last, with the sorting over, it was time to begin the feast.


	4. The Ravenclaw Common Room

After the feast, Lauren joined her now fellow Ravenclaws in the long climb to Ravenclaw tower, the tallest tower in the entire castle. The group of somewhere between fifty and sixty Ravenclaws climbed the circular stone staircase, their voices echoing loudly in the tower, and as they finally reached the top, they stopped and the two seventh year students that were Head Boy and Head Girl faced the crowd that ran the length of the stairwell, nearly sixty pairs of eyes watching the two of them. "I knew this part would freak me out, Leslie. All those eyes staring at me," said the Head Boy, a young black boy with thick dark curly hair, and he and the Head Girl, called Leslie, chuckled. "Good evening, Ravenclaws! My name is Hamish Ripper, Head Boy, and this is Leslie Simmons, Head Girl. If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, suggestions or anything of the like, you come to us. We're sort of the student versions of Professor Flitwick." Some of the older students chuckled.

"Now, older students, bear with us for a moment," said Leslie, a beautiful blonde young girl with piercing blue eyes. "First Years, to enter the Ravenclaw Tower, you don't need to remember a password but instead, answer a riddle. It may be a challenge at first, but before you know it, you'll be just as adept to it as the rest of us are! And if you answer incorrectly, it won't let you try again, but someone will come along eventually to open the door for you, or you can just knock on the door and hope someone is in there that can hear you. But to get the riddle, you must knock with this bronze eagle knocker - surprisingly, we can't hear the knocker inside of the common room." She knocks on the door with the knocker.

" _The man who invented it does not want it. The man who bought it does not need it. The man who needs it does not know it. What is 'it'?_ " said the knocker in a gentle voice.

"Would anyone like to attempt it?" asked Hamish.

"Make Lauren McGwyn do it! She's Ravenclaw's heir, after all!" said a third year boy, and someone shoved Lauren forward onto the landing.

"Come on, Lauren, don't be shy! If you don't get it, we're not going to be locked out. There's many other people here that can try it!" Hamish said as Lauren approached it.

"What was it again?" asked Lauren quietly.

"Just knock on the knocker again, dear," said Leslie, and Lauren did as she was told.

" _The man who invented it does not want it. The man who bought it does not need it. The man who needs it does not know it. What is 'it'?_ " said the knocker again.

"Why... A coffin!" Lauren said. "It makes perfect sense. A man who buys something he doesn't need for someone who does, but doesn't know it must be for a funeral because the dead man no longer has the ability to know what he needs." The sound of the door unlocking reverberated through the tower and the door swung open.

"Very good! Inside we go, Ravenclaws!" cried Leslie, and the crowd of students piled into the common room, the older students diffusing into different rooms and the first year students staying in the common room area.

"Now, before we send you all off to bed," Hamish began, "just know that you will find your trunks, your pets and your class schedules by each of the beds in your dormitory. Boys and girls are separate, but unlike the other houses, we don't have any charms that prevent boys and girls sharing spaces. First years sleep in one conjoined dormitory but older students have the option to share a room either with one or more other students or you can have a room to yourself. I can't tell you how we've achieved this - all sorts of magical charms I'm sure - but it's something to look forward to. Goodnight, everyone!" With that said, the first year girls followed Leslie up one spiraled staircase and the first year boys followed Hamish up the other. There were six female Ravenclaw first years and six male Ravenclaw first years, but the number of male and female students weren't always equal; in the fourth year Ravenclaw class, there were four male students and seven female students. The six female students continued following Leslie until they were brought to their own dormitory, and what a beautiful dormitory it was.

The ceiling, like the great hall, was enchanted, but not to match the weather; instead, it was a beautiful animated scene of the cosmos. There were planets, a smokey violet haze of a former supernova ( _Hogwarts: A History_ said it used to be a star that exploded in 1549), and the sky was littered with stars that shot across the sky. The royal blue curtains on the six four poster beds bore celestial patterns that glittered in silver and the bedspreads were a brilliant royal blue and silver Tudor pattern. The walls were wooden-panelled and at each window was a cushioned alcove with pillows. The floor was wooden as well and at the centre of the room was a large circular fireplace that hovered over burning and crackling wood. "Oh, it's so beautiful," said a dark-haired Raven Solidago upon first glance.

"Glad you like it... Sorry, what's your name again?" asked Leslie.

"Raven," said Raven.

"That's a pretty name. Glad you like it, Raven. Enjoy your first night at Hogwarts, ladies!" said Leslie, and she left, closing the French-style wooden doors behind her.

"Well," said Elvira Sallow. "Guess we'd better get comfortable. Where's my bed?" Her's was opposite of the door and she went straight towards her emerald green trunk, opening it and pulling out a white nightgown. Pandora Higgens was the first bed on the left side of the circular room. Beside her was Olivia Eolien, and then River Solidago. Then came Elvira Sallow's bed, and then Lauren McGwyn's bed, and then Marlene McKinnon's. Lauren went straight for her trunk and pulled out a tiny doll's bed with a small padded mattress and a tiny green quilt, setting it on her nightstand.

"Is that a bed for a doll?" asked Elvira Sallow with a laugh, and Lauren then produced Pickett from her pocket, placing him on the nightstand and watching him climb into his little bed.

"Not really. That's Pickett. He's my bowtruckle. He was given to me by my uncle," said Lauren in response. The room was silent for a moment.

"You're very strange," said Elvira.

"That is usually a common trait among Ravenclaws," said Pandora in a sweet, soft, dreamlike voice.

"I didn't even know you could have bowtruckles as pets," said Raven, sitting down on her bed and glancing at her schedule. "Potions first thing in the morning? How dreadful..."

"That's probably because the Headmaster probably doesn't even know," said Elvira, picking up her own schedule and looking at it. Lauren, too, glanced at hers and read over it.

"Potions is only three times a week, Raven! I think we'll be all right," she said amicably.

"Why do we have to have flying lessons? I don't want to fly," said Olivia from the far corner of the room. "I don't like heights..."

"You'll be all right, I'm sure! And besides, it's only for the year. My older brother is a fifth year and he says you don't take flying lessons again after the first year," said Elvira. "I'm planning on trying out for the Quidditch team next year."

"I thought about it, too, but I'm not sure. It might get in the way of my studies," said Lauren. "Anyway, I don't know about you lot, but I'm exhausted!"

"I don't know how you can sleep. I'm wide awake!" exclaimed Elvira.

"I'm quite tired, too," said Marlene. "And we've got that class early tomorrow morning."

"I'm all for going to bed, too," said Pandora

"I suppose if the rest of you want to stay up, you can go to the common room downstairs while we sleep up here," said Lauren, climbing into her bed and drawing one of the curtains closed. Elvira huffed.

"Fine, I guess we'll all go to bed," she said. "Come on, Henry." She picked up a white persian cat and climbed onto her bed, drawing her curtains closed. Once everyone was in their beds with their curtains drawn, the only light in the room was that of the celestial sky above them.

* * *

Marlene, Pandora and Lauren got ready for their first class together while Raven and Olivia climbed out of bed and Elvira continued to sleep soundly, or at least gave off the impression that she did. The three girls descended the stairs and entered the common room, where several of the older students were already involved in Ravenclaw common room life. "Excuse me," said Marlene, tapping on a fourth year boy's shoulder. "How do we get to the dungeons?"

"Potions class, eh?" he asked. "Your best bet without getting lost is to go all the way to the entrance hall, go through those large doors into the entrance courtyard, go left and cross that very large stone bridge that'll lead to the viaduct and then enter that hall and then go down the set of spiral stairs into the dungeons. There's a portrait at the very bottom of the Grand Staircase that leads to the dungeons but she's a right bitch and won't give you the password unless you're a Slytherin."

"Oh... Well, thank you very much!" said Marlene, and the three girls left the Ravenclaw common room and started to descend the large spiral staircase.

"I'm excited for the Astronomy class tonight," said Pandora. "I've always loved the stars."

"As have I. They're beautiful where I live," said Lauren.

"Where are you girls from?" asked Marlene. "I'm from the Borders. English side, but I'm very used to Scottish accents."

"I'm from Wales, from a little town called Pontardawe. You know, that little town where Mary Hopkin is from," said Pandora. "She used to babysit me when I was younger."

"Is she a witch, too?" asked Marlene, and Pandora shook her head. "No, she was always very confused about the weird things that I did as a child." Marlene and Lauren chuckled lightly. "What about you, Lauren? Where are you from?"

"I'm not allowed to say the specifics since Mum is still in hiding, but I'm from Scotland, if you couldn't tell from my accent. I was born in the Glens, like Rowena Ravenclaw. We live on an island now, with a lot of muggles, and they speak Scottish Gaelic. So to fit in, we had to learn it, too. It was easier for me than it was for Mum since I attended school there."

"That's interesting," said Pandora. "I know Welsh very well." The girls entered the Grand Staircase and began to descend it.

"I don't speak any language other than English," said Marlene. As they passed the seventh floor landing, having to wait for the moving stairs anyway, a portrait swung open and out came James Potter, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black; that portrait must have been the entrance of the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, if it isn't Lauren McGwyn," said James. "Still got that bowtruckle?"

"I couldn't trust him alone, so he's in my bag," said Lauren. "Are you going to Potions class too?"

"Sure are," said James, referring to his own group, and the six of them descended the stairs. "I hear getting into the Ravenclaw common room is a challenge. They don't use a password?"

"Nope," said Marlene. "We have to answer a riddle."

"That must be insanely difficult," said Sirius.

"Not for them, Sirius. They're Ravenclaws," said Remus, and Marlene laughed.

"Just because we're Ravenclaws doesn't mean we're geniuses," she said. They continued down the staircase and stopped when they came across two other first years, Ravenclaw John Stebbins and Hufflepuff Dafydd Talog, seemingly lost standing beneath the large statue.

"Are you boys just as confused about where the classroom is as we are?" asked Lauren, and the two of them looked up.

"Someone in my house said to go to the viaduct, but I don't know where that is," said dark-haired Dafydd.

"Lucky for you, we're going to class, too," said Sirius cheekily.

" _Mae'r lle hwn yn ddrysfa..._ " Pandora muttered under her breath in Welsh, referring to the castle as a maze.

" _Mae mor ddryslyd!_ " said Dafydd in response, also in Welsh, and the pair of them started a conversation in their native language.

"Maybe you'll find someone here who speaks Scottish Gaelic!" said Marlene with a smile as the group exited into the entrance courtyard.

"Oh, I doubt that. It isn't spoken all over Scotland, just in parts like the islands, mostly, and maybe the highlands, too," Lauren replied.

"People in Scotland speak a different language?" asked James.

"No, _gòrach_! Just in parts," said Lauren with a laugh. The group crossed a large stone bridge, stopping to look down over the edge.

"Wow, that's high," said Sirius. "I wonder what would happen if you dropped something down there."

"It'd get destroyed, obviously," said James. "It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to make that observation!" Again, they continued on, pushing through a set of large wooden doors and entering another hall with a stairwell that led to the first floor corridor. "I wish we had a map of this place. It's going to be so easy to get lost."

"We'll figure it out. Come on, then, down that spiral staircase there, someone said," said Lauren, and down the tight spiral staircase they went into the dungeons, where many Slytherin students were already walking around. Blonde-haired first year Elisabeth Myers was standing outside of the potions classroom, seemingly nervous to go in. As James, Sirius, Remus, Marlene, Dafydd, Pandora and John entered the classroom, Lauren stopped outside and stood beside Elisabeth.

"You know, if your housemates reject you for being a half-blood, that's their loss, but there are plenty of others here who are blind to blood purity," said Lauren.

"How did you- Are you reading my mind? Wait... wasn't Rowena Ravenclaw a-"

"Legilimens? Not sure, but it runs in my family. My point is, if you feel unwelcome for any reason, I'd be happy to be your friend."

"Thanks... But I should be friends with people in my own house. Even if they are... Slytherins..."

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherins, Elisabeth. At least, not a true Slytherin student. A lot of pureblood families that tend to be hateful towards non-magical blood of any type are sorted into Slytherin because they are power-hungry and determined to do whatever they can to gain that power, but a lot of Slytherins are just highly ambitious witches and wizards who are put in Slytherin because they, too, are very goal-oriented."

"Hmm... I guess you're right."

"And there's no rule that says you can't be friends with people in other houses. Just stay away from Gryffindors, they're pains in the arse," said Lauren, and Elisabeth chuckled lightly and the two girls entering the potions classroom. Lauren sat down in the empty seat at a table with the red-haired Lily Evans, raven-haired Elizabeth Hawking and the greasy-haired Severus Snape, receiving a jealous look from James and giving him a smile in response. "Sorry, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"Not at all," said Lily with a gentle smile. She was a very beautiful young girl with flowing fiery red hair, emerald green eyes the colour of Irish hills and pale skin dotted with freckles. She had a South English accent and spoke in a soft, friendly tone, seemingly very open to any and all types of friendships. "I'm Lily Evans, and you are?"

"Lauren McGwyn," said Lauren, and both Elizabeth and Severus seemed a bit surprised; Lily seemed unphased.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you," said Lily.

"You're Lauren McGwyn? You're not what I pictured her looking like..." said Elizabeth suspiciously.

"Not sure how I should take that..." said Lauren, not sure if she ought to be confused or offended.

"I thought you'd have red hair. You're Scottish, aren't you?" asked Elizabeth.

"If you couldn't tell from her accent," said Severus with a chuckle.

" _Chan eil falt ruadh aig a h-uile duine ann an Alba_ ," said Lauren in fluent Scottish Gaelic to confuse Elizabeth even more.

"What?" she asked, and Lauren laughed.

"I said 'not everyone in Scotland has red hair'," Lauren said in response. "Well, something like that. The translation is different..."

"The hell kind of language was that?" demanded Elizabeth, a tanned Mediterranean girl with thick raven black hair and piercing chocolate brown eyes, clearly of Italian descent.

"Scottish Gaelic," said Lauren.

"That's a weird language. Now, _italiano é una bella lingua!_ " Elizabeth replied in fluent Italian. "Mum's from Italy, Dad's from Ireland. She's full-blooded Italian and he's full-blooded Irish, blonde hair, blue eyes, the works. When my sister and I were born, one of us came out looking like her and one of us came out looking like him. That's her over there." She pointed to a blonde curly-haired Slytherin girl sitting with a group of other Slytherins. "Dad went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor and Mum went to some Italian school called the Rhea Silvia Imperial Academy of Sorcery* where they apparently don't have houses, but they wear togas. Their colour was red and Gryffindor's colour is red so there's a lot of red in the house at home. But maybe my sister got her stuck up attitude from Mum because that's what people from her school are like."

"That's interesting. I don't know very much about other magical schools but I presume there must be more," said Lauren.

"Loads more! There's three in Italy alone. I think there's one in Greece, too, because I remember Mum talking about a rivalry with a Greek school," said Elizabeth.

"I find that so cool how there's a completely different world of magic just hidden away from view," said Lily.

"You haven't even seen half of it yet, Lily," said Severus with a smile, and at that moment, their professor, a stout man heavily built with grey balding hair, entered the room.

"Good morning, students! How wonderful to see such eager young faces this early in the morning!" he said enthusiastically. "Surely, you are most eager to learn, yes?"

"Oh, absolutely," said James in a mock-enthused tone.

"Marvellous! And what is your name, young man?" asked the professor.

"James Potter, sir," said James respectfully.

"Now, Mr. Potter, what can you tell me about Golpalott's Third Law?" asked the professor. Lauren put her face into her palm and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, expecting him to humiliate himself.

"Quite a bit, Professor. Golpalott's Third Law states that the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components, meaning that the antidote for a batch of numerous poisons blended together cannot be simply made by combining the ingredients for the antidotes of each individual poison," said James, seeming to shock everyone in the room into silence for several moments. "I read a book on it once for punishment by my mum." He smiled at Lauren and winked.

"Good, Mr. Potter, very well done! Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, class, if I may begin... Today, we shall be learning about types of cauldrons and their various uses based on materials. But first, I need to know who you all are! I am Professor Slughorn and I will be your potions master for the next seven years here. Now, now..." Professor Slughorn said as he picked up a piece of parchment and adjusted his glasses. "Miss Jennifer Aberforth? Ah, yes. And Miss Hannah Anderson? Good morning, dear girl!" He went down the list, calling out all of the names in alphabetical order until he reached Lauren's. "Miss Lauren McGwyn- McGwyn?" He seemed almost stunned, then seemingly concerned. "I was not aware you would be starting school so soon, my dear. Where are you? Ah... You've got your mother's features. I recognised you almost immediately. I went to school with your grandmother, Athena Scamander, and all her siblings, and I taught both of your parents! How's your mother doing?"

"Very well, sir," said Lauren meekly, embarrassed at having attention drawn to her.

"Your family's still in Scotland, I see? The McGwyn family always has been, though. I also went to school with your father's parents. Two Ravenclaw purebloods, one from the Highlands and one from the Hebrides. But the Scamanders, they were an interesting bunch. Athena was a potioneer, as I'm sure you know, and a famed herbologist. She and her brother were both very eccentric students... He obsessed over animals and she obsessed over plants. Those Scamanders, though... Very charming people. I met with Mr. Newt Scamander and his American wife over the summer, very charming people..." Lauren smiled and nodded, and Professor Slughorn finally took a hint and continued calling attendance until he finished. "Now, cauldrons... Many of you have a standard size 2 Pewter Cauldron, I see, a very good cauldron for elementary alchemy, and some of you have brass and copper! How interesting. Ah, Miss McGwyn, is that a silver cauldron?"

"Yes, my Uncle Newt said he found it in the attic and gave it to my mother who gave it to me to use here. He said it belonged to my grandmother," Lauren replied.

"Remarkable! A famous cauldron in my classroom, touched by the very hands of Athena Scamander herself!" exclaimed Professor Slughorn excitedly, and several Slytherin students with bronze or copper cauldrons shot her a fierce glare.

"I am unsure of how it will handle potion-making, as I'm sure cauldrons were much less efficient in the twenties and thirties than they are today, but I am excited to put it to the test!" said Professor Slughorn. "Anyhow, back to the lesson... Pewter cauldrons have been in use since the early days and were used both by muggles and wizards, but for cooking by muggles of course..." Professor Slughorn turned to face the chalkboard and began to write on it, many students taking out notebooks to write down the notes.

* * *

*Taken from _Italian Wizarding Schools_ by Highly_Illogical (excluding spaces)

( archiveofourown dot org / works / 9309470)


	5. Slytherins and Prejudice

Later that same day, Lauren was at lunch with Pandora and Marlene, the three of them watching Pickett climb over plates and cups and loaves of bread and other such things. The ambient sound of students deep in conversation with others spread out among the tables was both deafening and peaceful; it was accompanied by the clinking of silverware on glass plates and the pages of books being opened and closed. Suddenly, they were joined by James, Sirius and Remus, who had just loudly entered the Great Hall laughing about something. "Did you see his face?" asked James with a laugh.

"Yeah, that greasy-haired slimeball looked like he was about to cry!" said Sirius with a loud guffaw.

"Well, that's what he gets for saying Slytherin is a better house," said James as they neared where Lauren, Pandora and Marlene were sitting, and the three of them plopped down beside Marlene.

"What's going on?" asked Lauren, confused.

"Oh, nothing," said James with a smirk.

"I wasn't a part of it," said Remus. "I want to make that clear."

"Did you make some poor lad nearly snivel himself to death? Not that little sandy-haired lad who fell off the boat, surely?" Lauren asked them.

"I like that... snivel... Sounds like his name," said Sirius. "Good old Snivellus!" James laughed, and Remus stifled a giggle.

"Answer my question, please," said Lauren.

"You mean that Pettigrew kid? No. I didn't even know he fell out of the boat, actually," said James.

"They mean Severus Snape," said Remus.

"But he's so kind! Why would you do such a thing?" asked Lauren.

"He's a Slytherin, Lauren. They can't be trusted," said James, his evident bias against anything not Gryffindor showing.

"Not all Slytherins turn out to be evil," said Lauren. "In fact, untrustworthy people come out of all houses. Well, except for Hufflepuff, according to my Aunt Daisy. She said that Hufflepuff can be proud to say that 'not a single bad egg has come out of Hufflepuff'. Probably because of their values. For Ravenclaws, they can go rogue because of their desire to learn, and a Gryffindor could go rogue because of his desire for glory. My father almost did, after all."

"You hardly knew your father, though," said James.

"That may be true, but I know that he was once close friends with Tom Riddle, and that says something, doesn't it?" asked Lauren. "I'm not saying he went bad, but I am saying that it was completely possible. Anything could have happened."

"Luckily for you, then, he chose family over knowledge," said Remus.

"No, Remus... He chose love over the Dark Arts. He always wanted to learn more... But he loved my mother more than his desire to learn more," Lauren replied. She looked over to see Sirius trying to feed Pickett a piece of bread. "He won't eat that, Sirius. Bowtruckles don't eat bread."

"Then what do bowtruckles eat?" asked Sirius, disappointed and setting the bread down.

"Mostly insects. I was going to take him outside soon and put him on a tree," Lauren replied.

"You like bugs, bowtruckle? I'm sure there's bugs in the dungeons," said Sirius to Pickett.

"Yeah, they're called Slytherins," said James; nobody laughed. Suddenly, the screech of an owl interrupted the awkward silence and through the windows came the morning's post. All kinds of owls flew to all kinds of students bearing all kinds of mail from packages to letters to copies of the _Daily Prophet_. An owl dropped down in front of Sirius and Lauren scooped up Pickett and placed him in her bag before it noticed him; the letter was scarlet and ominous-looking.

"What is that?" asked Remus.

"It's a Howler," said James. "You'd better go and open it up before it starts screaming at you in here." It started smoking in Sirius's hands, and he jumped up and ran out of the Great Hall, an angry voice starting to echo in the Entrance Hall.

"HOW DARE YOU GET SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR? TRAITOR! BLOOD TRAITOR YOU ARE!" the voice shouted, and it started to fade, as if Sirius was running away from it and it was following him through the corridors.

"Poor boy," said Pandora. "His family should love him for who he is, not for who he isn't."

"The world of Slytherin purebloods isn't all unicorns and rainbows," said James. "If you think even slightly differently than they do, they'll disown you. It isn't fair, no, but it's how they are." He looked at Lauren. "And it's why I don't like Slytherins."

"That's like saying you don't like women because a couple rejected you, or saying you don't like the Irish because one or two got into an argument with you," Lauren replied sternly.

"I have nothing against women or the Irish. You know, I forgot that you said you were raised with muggles. You'd never understand," said James.

"Oh, I understand just fine," Lauren replied. "I recognise prejudice when I see it. It doesn't matter if it's magical or non-magical, prejudice is prejudice."

"Tell that to the Slytherins, then, that hate all muggles and anyone with non-magic blood in their body because of an old belief that muggles will kill anyone who's a witch or a wizard." Lauren was about to reply, but a great eagle owl suddenly and majestically plopped down in front of Lauren and stuck out its leg, bearing a letter; Lauren removed it from the owl's leg and opened it, finding two pieces of parchment inside.

"Oh, it's from Mum and Daisy!" Lauren said excitedly, reading first the letter from her mother; it was written entirely in Scottish Gaelic.

 _Dear Lauren,_

 _How proud I am of you for being sorted into Ravenclaw! Did I not say that you would be? Daisy and I are very proud of you, although my pocket surely isn't. You should have asked the hat to sort you and move on so I could win! I'm only kidding, dear. Home misses you as much as I do. Mrs. Caileanach asked me where'd you'd gone and when I explained that I had sent you off to boarding school, Mr._ _Fòlais said to me, "That wee bairn is a North Uist lass and a North Uist education is enough for her. They're not going to teach her to refine the language of our land!" Needless to say, the people who have become our second family miss you dearly._

 _I'll keep this letter short because I don't want to keep you from your studies. Have you made any friends? How is Hogwarts these days? How's Pickett handling the change? How are your classes? I do hope you like this owl, Daisy picked it out and said that she was drawn to it for some reason. I'll have to admit, it's a beautiful owl but it's slightly unsettling. It should be suitable for you, though. Remember to send owls to the shop. The owls are smart, it'll probably drop the letter off and either wait or fly back to you._

 _I love you forever, my sweetheart. Do be careful and remember what I said about the legilimency. There might be a book on it in the library, probably on Occlumency and probably with notes your father scribbled into it. He was always doing that, scribbling in books that weren't his own. It might be in the Defense Against the Darks Arts section, or the Restricted Section. If you are unsure, ask Madam Pince, the librarian. Do write back as soon as you can!_

 _Love,_

 _Mum_

Smiling after reading the letter from her mother, she opened the second letter from Daisy.

 _Hey there, kid!_

 _Glad to hear you're right where we knew you'd belong (and to have won the bet - haha!) Hope you're having fun! Mum and I had tea to celebrate your sorting and, as usual, she complained about the tea - she thought it was Typhoo, but I actually brought Glengettie, a Welsh tea, and she STILL thought it was disgusting! Can you believe that? I miss having you around, Laurie, you never thought my teas were disgusting._

 _Hope you're making friends! Have you come across young Mr. Potter yet? I've exchanged letters with his mother and she says he hasn't written her yet - Gryffindor surely, right? Tell him his mother wants to hear from her boy! I hope that little green devil is getting along all right and isn't terrorising the kids like he does me, and yes, he is a little green devil. I also hope you like the owl! I was in the Magical Menagerie trying to pick one out for you and there were a couple of gorgeous owls, but this one stuck out to me. I just felt drawn to her, as if she was meant for you, gwenyn. She's a sweet girl and her name is up to you!_

 _Anywho, best keep this short so you can get back to your friends and your schoolwork. Do write back when you can! I'm sure Mum's told you where to write it to so I won't bother wasting time with that._

 _With much love,_

 _Daisy_

"Lucky you, two letters," said James. "Dad just lets Mum do all of the writing."

"Funny you say that, Aunt Daisy says your mother told her you haven't written her yet about your sorting," said Lauren in response, and Remus and Marlene stifled a giggle.

"I've been meaning to! I will..." said James, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry... I don't know why she mentioned it-"

"It's not your fault, Lauren, you're fine." An awkward silence ensued, and Remus pulled out a pocket watch.

"It's nearly half past one," he said. "We ought to be getting to our next class soon. What is it again?"

"Flying. My favourite! I can't wait," said James, and the group of students got up, except for Pandora; Lauren took her new owl onto her arm.

"Aren't you coming, Pandora?" asked Marlene.

"I think I'll finish eating first," she muttered quietly. "I'll meet you there."

"All righty then," said James as they started towards the doors. "Where'd Sirius end up?"

"I think he ran away from the Howler," said Lauren.

"How do you know that?" asked Remus.

"Well, didn't you hear it? It started echoing down the corridor and getting more urgent, as if he were running away from it," Lauren explained.

"Ah, that makes sense. I'll go and look for him, then," said Remus, and he departed from the group. Marlene, James and Lauren were left and they started on their way to the quidditch pitch.

"You're not going to bring that owl with you to class, are you?" James asked Lauren.

"He's awful frightening," said Marlene. "What kind of owl is he?"

"I'm not sure, but Aunt Daisy said she's a girl. I think... I think I'll call her Evie. That seems like a suitable name," Lauren replied. "Maybe my uncle Newt will know. I'll write to him and ask."

"Doesn't he know more about magical creatures than regular ones? Owls aren't just used in the magical world," James replied.

"Yes, I know. The muggles who live on the island I was raised on are afraid of owls and see them as a bad omen. They were always frightened when they saw one on our roof, but it was usually Daisy's owl that she'd bring with her. She never liked leaving him alone," Lauren said. "She used to say that she didn't want him to feel alone or be trapped in his cage all day when she came to visit."

"Hufflepuffs. Always thinking about other living things," said James.

"You have an opinion on every house, don't you?" asked Lauren.

"I do, actually. Gryffindors are where people like me go, the ones who are brave and valiant and chivalrous. They're the people who stand up for everyone and don't care about the consequences. Hufflepuffs are the nicest and the purest people you'll meet. They love everything that breathes and will stop at nothing to make sure everyone feels equally loved. Ravenclaws are very smart and will find an answer for anything. Slytherins will stop at nothing to make anyone who's different know they're different. They're prejudiced, they're crude, they're-"

"Fiercely ambitious and hungry for dreams. The ones who are prejudiced are the ones who were raised by prejudiced people and taught how to be prejudiced. Sometimes, I wonder why _you_ weren't sorted into Slytherin if that's your definition of them."

"Are you calling my parents prejudiced?"

"No, but I am saying that you learned how to be prejudiced against Slytherins from somewhere."

"Why are you defending them? What have Slytherins ever done for you? Oh, wait. They killed your father and forced you and your mother into hiding."

"I've had enough of this." Lauren stormed away, leaving Marlene and James standing there in her wake.

"See? She doesn't want to admit that Slytherins are bad people," James said.

"No, she's tired of you refusing to admit that perfectly good people could be sorted into Slytherin as well," Marlene replied. "If you want to stay friends with her, don't bring up your evident hatred of Slytherins again." With that said, Marlene followed Lauren's shrinking form, leaving James standing there alone.


	6. Muggleborn In The Library

The library was like one of Lauren's many dreams, with private corners and alcoves by the windows around every corner and books flapping across the room like the seagulls on North Uist that she had to admit she missed. There were, of course, primarily Ravenclaws in the library, as they were naturally drawn to it, but there were also many other students from other houses as well. It excited Lauren to see a group of students from all four houses trying to work out an Arithmancy problem together, any bias they have for the other houses set aside as they attempted to work it out.

"Clearly, it's the way Professor Vector taught us," said one of the two Gryffindor students.

"If it wasn't correct then why would she teach us that, Lisa? Clearly, she knows what she's doing," said the second Gryffindor to the one Ravenclaw of the group.

"Yeah but this way is easier, cleaner and leaves room on your parchment for more work for other problems," Lisa the Ravenclaw replied.

"Just because it's easier doesn't mean Professor Vector will mark it right though. Tim and Mark are right," said the Hufflepuff. "What do you think, Sam?" She addressed the only Slytherin in the group.

"I think it's all bullshit, personally," said Sam, clearly disinterested in the work.

"Sam! Don't say that!" said the other Hufflepuff that was seated beside them, then she lowered her voice to a whisper. "There are children around here!"

"They'll hear it one way or another, Sally! Does it really matter?" Sam snapped, turning back to his notes. "Are we finishing this or not?"

"Merlin, you're so moody sometimes! I have an essay to write for Professor Sprout. Let me know if you guys discover anything new," said Sally, and she collected her things and stormed off.

"Same damn thing every day," said Sam, shaking his head, and he, too, got up and left the library. Lauren grimaced as she quickly walked away, trying not to get sucked up in the drama as Lisa, Tim, Mark and the remaining Hufflepuff let out a sigh and returned to their work. Scanning the titles of the books as she walked by, Lauren searched for the desk that housed Madam Pince, finally coming across it in the very heart of the library.

"Excuse me, Madam Pince?" young Lauren said, and Madam Pince glanced down at her over her spectacles. She almost frightened Lauren with her parchment-like skin and hooked nose, but Lauren knew from her mother that she was all talk and no bite.

"What do you want, child?" she asked. "Hmm, a Ravenclaw, and a new face, too. You must be a first year. Mind you, if you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface-"

"Disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards any book in this library, there will be consequences. Yes, Madam Pince, I agree with you wholeheartedly," Lauren said, finishing the aging woman's thought and surprising her. The vulture-like woman was in shock, stunned into silence for only a moment before regaining her power.

"I thought I recognised that face. You're Andrew McGwyn's daughter, aren't you? I started here as this school's librarian in his sixth year and that boy gave me and my books more trouble than all of the other students combined! His talent for legilimency was unnerving, and I see he has passed that onto you. What a joy," Madam Pince replied. "Now, what is it that you want?"

"My mother told me that you might have books on legilimency and occlumency that could help me learn how to control-"

"Ah, yes, well, thanks to your father and his friends, all of those books are stored in the Restricted Section, a section that is, as stated, restricted. Students are not allowed back there. Therefore, no access to those books."

"That isn't very fair!"

"Oh, it is very fair. Students that aren't so 'fortunate' to get the gift of legilimency could learn how to use it and then we'd have a mess on our hands. You will just have to learn to deal with it and-"

"And stop reading people's thoughts. I can't control it! Mum isn't a legilimens and Dad died when I was just a baby, how could I possibly learn how to control it without being shown how? I barely even know how legilimency even works, it just happens!"

"You're a Ravenclaw. Figure it out. Now, if you don't mind, I am very busy. Do not make me ask to have you escorted out." With that said, Madam Pince returned to her work, and Lauren huffed and walked off in search of the Restricted Section.

"'You're a Ravenclaw, figure it out'. We're not natural born geniuses. We have the capacity for problem solving and logical thinking but that doesn't mean we're born knowing how to do everything!" Lauren said to herself as she walked through the bookshelves, searching for the Restricted Section, and finally spotting it through some spaces where borrowed books belonged. Smiling to herself, Lauren started towards it, stopping when she saw that a couple of Gryffindor girls were seated at a table nearby - it was Elizabeth Hawking and Lily Evans.

"You can't go in there, Lauren, it's restricted," Lily said as Lauren approached the gate blocking it off.

"Yeah, we've already tried," Elizabeth said.

"We have not!" cried Lily, embarrassed at the thought of anyone thinking she would do such a thing.

"I can't help but wonder why it's restricted, and why they would put so little protections on the gate," said Lauren, glancing at the gate itself; all she had to do was push it open to gain access.

"I guess it's like banned books in primary schools," said Lily. "Like _Lolita_ , I found a copy of it in the attic among Mum's things and my teachers were so angry with me for having it."

"What?" asked Elizabeth. "Is that one of those muggle books?"

"I guess so... it's about an adult man having a relationship with a teenage girl," Lily replied.

"Muggles are bloody weird. Do they like that kind of stuff?" asked Elizabeth, scandalised at the very thought of the book's plot.

"Larger age gaps aren't all that uncommon where I come from, but most people tend to go for people their own age," said Lauren, chiming in.

"On that note, I'm going to go and find the lav. There's got to be one on this floor, right? Preferably one that isn't haunted," Elizabeth said, and she got up and left. Lauren turned back to the gate and pushed it open, once again being interrupted by Lily.

"Why do you need to go in there anyway?" Lily asked her.

"I need to find some books on controlling legilimency," Lauren replied.

"What's that?"

"Sorry, it's so easy to forget that people at Hogwarts are muggleborn... It's a skill that can be learned by anyone but can naturally be part of someone's genetics. Only someone who carries the magical gene has the potential of inheriting a legilimency gene but it's very rare and it has to come from both sides of the family, just like the gene for magical ability. Have you got any siblings with magical talent?" Lily shook her head.

"I have a sister, Petunia, but she's older than me and isn't magical."

"You see, the reason why muggleborns exist is because somewhere in your parents' ancestry, someone was born a squib, which is someone born to two magical parents but didn't inherit the gene. That in itself is very rare, but basically, that squib married either a muggle or another squib and passed down the magical gene that they carried until it eventually mixed with the gene pool of another muggle with a squib in their family, and therefore, a magical child can be born to two muggles. It's the same concept with legilimency but they don't have to be a muggleborn to inherit the legilimency gene. There's plenty of muggles that are natural born legilimens, but of course they don't know how to control it. I believe in your world, they call them psychics."

"Really? How do you know all this?"

" _Magical Geneology_ , a book I read at home. Where I come from, there really isn't much to to in the winter so I read the books in my house every winter."

"That's very interesting. So you're a natural born legilimens?"

"Unfortunately. Muggles call it a gift but when you're a wizard and everyone knows it exists and can learn it, it becomes a curse. I can't control what I see and hear of people's thoughts and sometimes, it just happens. I want to learn how to control it so I can use it on my own free will. Not that I would but if for some reason I decide I want to become an auror, it would come in handy."

"What's an auror?"

"A dark wizard catcher. I guess like a muggle police officer, almost, except they're skilled in special types of magic. My dad wanted to be an auror, but he couldn't be because Voldemort was after him and my mother."

"Who is Voldemort? Everyone keeps saying things about him but I don't know who he is."

"I suppose you wouldn't, but he's out to hurt people like you. He was normal once and my dad was friends with him in school but he got so power hungry that he went bad. Really bad. He killed my father."

"Was your father like me?" Lauren shook her head.

"He was a pureblood, which is someone who has no non-magic blood in their body."

"Are you a pureblood?"

"No, my mother's father was a muggle. I'm what they call a half-blood. James Potter is a pureblood, though."

"It shows." Lauren laughed.

"Nah, that's just the pure Gryffindor in him. They've been Gryffindors for as long as Gryffindor has been a house at Hogwarts." At this moment, Elizabeth returned from the restrooms.

"My family's pureblood, too. My mother is from an old prestigious family in Italy with harsh views towards anyone with a drop of muggle blood in their body," she said. "She left after school and came here. If her family had come from here, they would have been Slytherins, and probably followers of Voldemort as well."

"Oh..." said Lily in a dejected tone. "Maybe I shouldn't have come here, then."

"Not at all!" said Lauren. "Magic is not only for purebloods. If you have the talent, then magic is for you, too."

"Yeah, you don't want to become an obscurial," said Elizabeth.

"An obscurial? What's that?" asked Lily, very curious about all of these new terms she'd never heard of before.

"Ah, Lily, you have so much to learn..." said Elizabeth, throwing an arm around the young redhead's shoulders.

"She is muggleborn, she's from an entirely different world and now has to learn how to be a part of an entirely new one she's never heard of. It's like going to a new planet and needing to learn how to be a part of its society. It's not exactly easy to go from one world to another," said Lauren, then she turned to Lily. "Don't you be frightened off by the magical world, Lily. I know how difficult it can be to have to learn the ways of a new place. You've got many friends who are happy to help you."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," said Lily with a smile. "But neither of you answered my question. What's an obscurial?"

"It's what happens to a kid who suppresses their magical abilities until they lose control and it breaks out and destroys things. Obscurials usually never live past... what, ten or twelve?" Elizabeth said, looking at Lauren.

"About that age. My great uncle studied them and came across one in New York who was closer to sixteen or seventeen. He never said anything more beyond the magical government of America killing him because he became so destructive," Lauren replied, and Lily gasped and covered her mouth.

"That's terrible!" she exclaimed, shocked at hearing this. "I'm glad I'm not one of those!"

"That's why schools like Hogwarts accept muggleborn children. Imagine how many obscurials there would be if muggleborn children didn't learn how to control their magical abilities," Lauren replied.

"Wait, did you say your great uncle said that? He's still alive?" Lily questioned, quite confused at the thought of how old Lauren's great uncle would be.

"Well, yeah. Witches and wizards have longer lifespans than muggles. Not much, maybe an extra fifty years, give or take, if there's no outside influences on them like diseases, magical accidents or murderers," said Lauren.

"My great great grandmother in Italy is still alive and functioning well. She's probably close to a hundred and twenty-five by now. I don't see her or hear from her," said Elizabeth. "Actually, I don't think I've ever even met her."

"Why's that?" asked Lily.

"Like I said, they're a very prestigious old pureblood family. I think the bloodline goes back to ancient Roman times. When my mother denounced their anti-muggleborn ways and married an English man that was from a pureblood family but supported muggleborn rights, her mother burned her off of their family tree. My sister has been secretly writing to my grandmother, though. She doesn't even look Italian, she's like my dad - blonde hair, blue eyes and porcelain white skin," Elizabeth replied, sort of rambling as she tried to recall all of the stories her mother told her, and the letters she read that she shouldn't have.

"Do looks matter to pureblood families?" Lily asked.

"Sometimes, they do," said Lauren. "Here in the United Kingdom where we're so diverse from our commonwealth days, the race and appearance of pureblood families isn't that big of a deal. But places like Norway, Italy, Greece, India, China, Japan and places like that, looking and acting your culture is very important. Even in Scotland, acting Scottish is a very important part of pureblood families. Mum used to tell me stories about how important it was to my dad's family to be prideful of their Scottish heritage."

"Wow... I feel like I'm learning so much about the wizarding world now! And most pureblood families tend to look alike, right? Like non-magical wealthy families?" asked Lily, now trying to draw comparisons between the muggle and wizarding worlds.

"I wouldn't know, I'm pureblood," said Elizabeth.

"I don't know much about wealthy muggle families, I'm from an island in Scotland. Very wealthy families don't come to my island to visit, let alone live there. They consider us backwards and dirty because we farm, fish and speak an ancient and dying Celtic language," said Lauren.

"The Malfoys are all sharp-faced, thin-haired blonde bigoted pricks, if that says anything," said Elizabeth. "And the Blacks are usually dark-haired and olive-skinned, save for Narcissa and a handful of others. She's a sixth year here."

"I haven't seen her and of course, I probably wouldn't know," said Lily.

"She's a blonde-haired Slytherin who keeps to herself so you probably wouldn't. I hardly ever see her save for the Start-of-Term and End-of-Term Feasts. She's blonde like the Malfoys but round-faced like the Blacks," Elizabeth replied.

"If they're Slytherins, does that mean Sirius Black isn't related to them?" Lily asked innocently, and Elizabeth laughed.

"No, he's Narcissa Black's cousin. I'm very surprised he got sorted into Gryffindor actually. I expected him to be no different from his family," she said.

"Generally, most generations of families are sorted into the same house because of similar minds and similar opinions of things. My family has been Ravenclaw since... Well, since the house was founded, my father was a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw who established the house. And on my mother's side, she was a Ravenclaw and so was her mother but my grandmother's siblings were in the other houses and were very diverse. My Great Uncle Newt studied magical creatures and was a Hufflepuff, my Great Uncle Theseus was a war hero during the Great War and was a Gryffindor, my Great Aunt Persephone was a Slytherin and, well... In History of Magic, you'll learn about her and her husband-"

"I know about them!" Elizabeth interrupted, cutting Lauren off.

"Well, yes, but you're a pureblood and know of recent history," Lauren said, then she finished her thought. "My grandmother was a Ravenclaw and she was an herbologist and a potioneer, something that I want to do when I grow up."

"I think Professor Slughorn mentioned her, right? What was her name?" Lily asked, recalling the potions class from earlier in the week.

"Athena Scamander, we'll probably learn about her in potions class. She experimented with various uses of valerian roots, mandrake, wolfsbane and many, many non-magical plants and herbs combined with magical ingredients and improved the side effects of many potions we use today as well as starting to work on a cure for werewolfism, however, she died before she could finish it."

"What happened?" asked Lily.

"Something about a potion accident, Mum used to say. She was there for it," Lauren replied, and they paused for a moment. Just as Lily opened her mouth to ask another question, obnoxious laughter was heard, followed by a loud shushing sound from Madam Pince. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of purebloods and Black, that sounds like him and Potter," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe they won't come back here," said Lily hopefully, but they weren't that lucky. The three young boys bolted straight to the restricted section, stopping when they saw the three familiar faces of the girls.

"Hello, Evans, Hawking, Lauren," said James looking at each one as he addressed them.

"What brings you three girls to the restricted section, hm? Up to something?" asked Sirius, mainly looking at Elizabeth.

"We were trying to find some peace and quiet but we see now that we're not getting that," Elizabeth spat back.

"Whoa, easy now, Hawking, no need to be hostile!" Sirius said casually.

"When you're around, there is," Elizabeth replied viciously, then she stood and turned to Lily. "I'm going back to the tower to try and do my homework in the dormitory. That seems to be the only place where I can't be disturbed by them. I'll see you later, Lily." With that said, Elizabeth Hawking collected her things, shoved past Sirius and left the library.

"So fiesty, that one," said Sirius with a laugh.

"What brings _you_ of all people to a library, Potter?" Lily demanded, standing and placing her hands on her hips.

"I know it seems hard to believe but I don't hate reading, I just choose not to do it for fun," James replied. "Now if you don't mind, we've got to find a book."

"About?" asked Lily suspiciously.

"None of your business-"

"He doesn't even know," said Lauren, tapping into her legilimency talent. "Remus is the one looking for it. I'm afraid it's just a rumour, Remus, her notes aren't here. They're in my mother's possession, hidden away somewhere. Why are you looking for them anyway?" Remus stared at her almost in shock, then glanced between Sirius, James and Lily, none of whom knew what either of them were talking about.

"I mean... You're sure they're not here?" Remus asked her.

"I'm sure of it. Why would they be here?" Lauren replied, suspicious.

"I don't know, I just thought maybe... Nevermind," Remus said, and he walked away rather dejectedly.

"What was he looking for?" Sirius asked Lauren, but Lauren shook her head.

"Doesn't really matter, the issue solved itself," Lauren replied. "I've got a bit of work to do so I'll see you lot around."

"I'll walk out with you so I don't have to stay with these... these... Oh, whatever!" Lily cried, and she stormed off.

"...right... I'll see you lot later, then," Lauren said to Sirius and James, and she too left the peace and quiet of the library for the bustling corridor. Sirius then turned to James, who continued watching both Lily and Lauren passing through the bookshelves.

"Do you think Remus is hiding something from us?" James asked Sirius.

"If he felt the need to tell us, he would," said Sirius in response.

"Yeah... Hopefully, it isn't something bad," James replied, and they stood there another moment in silence. "Want to go into the restricted section just to do it?"

"Hell yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, and the pair of them pushed through the wrought-iron gate and ran into the restricted section.


	7. Werewolves and Moondew

A little before two in the afternoon on Friday, Lauren, Marlene and Pandora made their way to their second Herbology class of the their school career. The last class was spent as an introduction and discussing some of the plants that they would be learning about; today, they would be learning about Moondew. "I rather like Herbology," Lauren was explaining to her friends.

"Your grandmother was an herbologist, wasn't she?" asked Marlene.

"A bit... She was more of a potioneer, but she grew plants to use in certain kinds of potions. It was her who strengthened the Wiggenweld potion by putting Moly plants in them, and they're grown all over Hogwarts," Lauren explained. "Mum wanted to be an herbologist, but of course, Voldemort got in the way."

"Gotta hate that when Voldemorts get in the way," said the snarky Elizabeth Hawking, whom seemed to appear out of nowhere. Lily Evans and Mary Montgomery were on her tail, chattering away about muggle fashion trends for the year. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear. These two have been talking about fashion for an hour now - the most boring topic ever!"

"You'd never understand muggle fashion, being a pureblood and all," Lauren replied. "I for one am interested, however, the muggles where I live tend to dress a bit more casual and backwards. They don't really hear about the latest fashions until a couple of years too late."

"I think you'd rather like ponchos, Lauren," Mary said to her. "They're all the rage right now."

"What's a poncho?" asked Elizabeth.

"They're like big blankets with a hole in the top for your head to go through," Marlene explained to her.

"Why would I need that when I can just hold the blanket around me? That's just lazy," Elizabeth replied with a huff.

"How long could you get through the day without finding a use for your hands, huh?" asked Lauren.

"I rather like ponchos. I have a few of them at home," Lily said.

"Me too!" cried Mary excitedly, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"I'll never understand muggle anything..." she muttered.

"Purebloods likely wouldn't. Mum always said that Dad never really understood what purpose sponges served when a spell like Scourgify exists," Lauren replied.

"When do we learn Scourgify anyway? I'd love to use it on my shoes. They got all mucked up from the rain the other day," Marlene chimed in.

"I think next year," Elizabeth said. "Mum taught it to me when I was younger, though. She saw no need for me learning how to clean things by hand when the spell for it existed, but that's probably the Italian pureblood in her."

"I'm surprised you don't think that that is lazy," Pandora said softly, prompting Elizabeth to turn and look at her with a perplexed expression.

"Excuse me?" she asked, taken aback.

"Well, you said that wearing ponchos was considered lazy because you could just hold a blanket around you. So by that logic, isn't performing a cleaning spell considered lazy since you aren't doing the cleaning yourself?" Pandora replied, causing everyone else to snicker.

"That isn't the same thing!" Elizabeth defended herself as the rest of the girls chuckled to themselves. Suddenly, some unseen force grabbed Mary on the shoulder, causing her to scream in terror.

"AH! A ghost!" she cried, completely forgetting that the ghosts at Hogwarts were visible. Then, a piece of Lily's copper locks was raised into the air, causing Lily, too, to shriek in utter terror while the remaining young witches from magical blood looked on rather confused. Lauren pulled out her wand, casting a spell that her mother had taught her when she was young.

" _Homenum Revelio_!" she shouted, and a great gust of wind emanated from the tip of her wand, blowing a cloak of invisibility that had just become visible off of a young laughing James Potter standing beside Lily.

"You stupid jerk!" Lily cried, smacking him on the arm.

"Hey! That isn't nice!" James cried through laughter.

"Neither is scaring us pretending to be a ghost!" Mary cried angrily. It was at this moment that a hysteric Sirius Black appeared from around the corner of the corridor.

"If you'd know any better, you'd know that ghosts can be seen!" Sirius said to them. "I guess muggles have never seen a ghost!"

"Ghosts where we come from are invisible, stupid!" Lily snapped.

"Well, I have news for you, Evans. This isn't the muggle world, this is Hogwarts. Ghosts can be seen here," Sirius said, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him, prompting further laughter from James.

"Hiss and spit at each other later, we still have class," Lauren said, prompting the group to move towards the greenhouses. The eight first years filed into the classroom and divided into separate groups on either side of the table, with Lauren, James and Sirius moving to the right side and the rest to the left. Standing beside Lauren was Hufflepuff student Melanie Janeway, who was chattering away with her new best friend, fellow Hufflepuff Sabrina Jameson. The pair of them stopped chattering and smiled, somewhat creepily, at Lauren when she stopped beside them. "Can I help you two?"

"We're just so excited that you decided to stand next to us today, Lauren!" said Melanie, a chipper girl with short wavy dirty blonde hair and grey eyes.

"My mother went to school with your mother, Lauren. They were both star pupils of Professor Flora before Professor Sprout taught here," said Sabrina, another chipper girl with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"What was your mother's name?" asked Lauren.

"Margaret Lewis," said Sabrina. "Ask your mum, I'm sure she remembers her!"

"Mum never really mentions anyone she went to school with," Lauren replied. "What about Daisy Ridley? She was a Hufflepuff, too."

"My father dated Daisy Ridley while at Hogwarts," said Melanie, and Lauren's jaw dropped slightly.

"Really? Who was he?" Lauren was now really excited. How could Daisy never tell her this?

"Mitchell Janeway," Melanie replied happily, excited to be the one telling this information to Lauren.

"Aunt Daisy never said anything like that! I'll have to ask her about it next time I write to her," Lauren exclaimed.

"I've met that woman, she seems like she'd scare off any man who came near her," James said, chiming into the conversation.

"That isn't very nice, Aunt Daisy is a great woman! She said she was engaged before, but had to break it off because he became a Death Eater," Lauren replied casually.

"Was he a Slytherin? A Slytherin was engaged to someone outside of his house?" James asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, my dad says that Miss Ridley was attracted to Slytherin personalities. He was a Slytherin, too," said Melanie.

"See that, James? Not all Slytherins are bad. If Aunt Daisy, the fiercest Hufflepuff I've ever known, can like Slytherins then so can you," Lauren told him. James was about to open his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Professor Sprout entered the greenhouse.

"Good afternoon, students! I'm very glad to see all of your excited young faces here again!" said the Hufflepuff head of house enthusiastically.

"Hey, where's Remus?" questioned Sirius rather loudly.

"Mr. Lupin is feeling unwell today and has been excused from all classes," Professor Sprout stated.

"You didn't notice he was missing in Potions this morning?" Lauren asked him.

"You didn't notice that _I_ was missing in Potions this morning?" Sirius responded.

"If you will please turn your attention back to me, students. Now, we left off last class discussing the various types of plants that we will be studying in Herbology this year. Today, we will start with Moondew. Moondew is a small blue flowering plant that blooms at night, strongest when under the full moon. When I was a student learning about Moondew, I learned from Professor Flora, who retired four years go now, that his former student, Athena Scamander experimented with Moondew in attempting to brew a potion that she hoped would cure or at least ease the symptoms of lycanthropy. Is that correct, Miss McGwyn?" Once again, all eyes were trained on Lauren.

"I've seen her notes one or two times, I do believe she did experiment with Moondew..." Lauren muttered.

"Athena Scamander was an excellent potioneer and herbologist who revolutionised the way we brew modern day potions. But we do have students here who know nothing of Miss Scamander or of lycanthropy, so can anyone tell me what lycanthropy is? Mr. Potter!" James was not paying attention to the lesson but instead, was writing words in dirt that had been spilled on the table and snickering over them with Sirius. He jumped when Professor Sprout called his name.

"Yes, Professor?" said James, perking up.

"Can you explain to the class what lycanthropy is? I hear you have an extensive knowledge on varying topics," Professor Sprout repeated.

"I can tell you about varying cauldrons, magical laws, rules in potions and all about wands, but all I know about lycanthropy is that it has to do with werewolves," James replied, and Mary Montgomery gasped.

"I hate werewolves! They're terrifying," she cried.

"Magical werewolves are a lot scarier than your muggle ones because they're real!" Sirius said, frightening Mary even more.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your insolence, Mr. Black. That is correct, Mr. Potter, lycanthropy does have to do with werewolves. Now, there is no evidence that Moondew actually worked in curing or easing the symptoms of lycanthropy as Miss Scamander met an early demise before she could complete the potion. Anywho, back onto Moondew. Moondew can also be used in many healing potions and when you begin to learn the Wiggenweld potion, you will have a ready supply of Moondew for you to use in your potions. Yes, Mr. Griffiths?"

"I've heard that Moondew seeds can be used in drugs, is it true?" asked young Ravenclaw Richard Griffiths, shocking Professor Sprout.

"Where did you hear such a thing?" she asked him.

"My brother told me," said Richard, referring to his fifth year brother, Samuel Griffiths.

"I shall be having a word with Professor Flitwick to talk to Mr. Griffiths then," said Professor Sprout, moving on from the subject. "Moondew does have some hallucinogenic effects, which means that you can feel a bit woozy under the effects of it, however, the primary use of Moondew is in healing potions such as Wiggenweld. Now, grab your gloves and we will learn how to pot and grow Moondew."

* * *

"I thought it was hilarious that Griffiths was able to shock Professor Sprout like that," Sirius said as the class left the greenhouses. "'Can Moondew be used in drugs?' We should try that sometime!"

"You're eleven, the only thing you should be trying is pumpkin juice," Lauren replied.

"You're eleven, too! And I'm older than you!" Sirius cried.

"By a couple of months," Lauren said. "Anyway, why don't you lot go and see if Remus is in the hospital wing?"

"Well, where would you be going?" James asked her.

"To the library. I want to get a head start on the essay for potions. As much as I like learning, I'm not exactly thrilled to write an essay on eighteen inches of parchment about the benefits of varying cauldrons on different potions," Lauren replied.

"That's a good idea, I might join you, Lauren," Lily replied.

"I appreciate it, but I do concentrate better when there are no distractions around me. Besides, I wanted to look at another book anyway," Lauren replied. "I'm not answering any questions about it, James."

"I didn't even say anything!" James cried, having only just formed his question in his mind.

"You were going to, and my answer stands firm," said Lauren. "I'll catch up with you all later." With that said, she left.

"She's weird," Sirius said once she'd cleared the corridor.

"She's not weird, but she is very private. Even in our dormitory," Marlene said.

"I mean, her father was best friends with Voldemort," Elizabeth chimed in. "Maybe she has some dark motives."

"I doubt that," James said. "She's weird but she isn't evil. She's not a Slytherin."

"Or, maybe you're all overthinking it and she's perfectly normal," Lily said.

"You wouldn't understand-"

"Just because I don't have wizard parents doesn't mean I can't understand something, Potter. I went to a regular school and I've seen kids who are like Lauren. She was raised alone so she probably doesn't know how to talk to other kids. You don't have to be a wizard to know that."

"I was raised alone, too!" James snapped back. "I didn't have any brothers or sisters or really any friends either. Do you know how many kids live where I live? Not many. Guess how many of them were my age? Go ahead, guess! None of them! They were all either way older than me or way younger than me!" He paused for a moment. "Sorry... I'm going to go and see if Remus is in the Hospital Wing."

"...well..." Sirius said after a moment of silence, watching James stalk off. "I've never seen him like that."

"You've known him a week," said Elizabeth rather matter-of-factly.

"So? Everyone is so moody today," Sirius replied, and he, too, left, following James down the corridor.

"Anyone hungry?" asked Elizabeth.

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of the night when Lauren heard the distinct tapping sound of an owl's beak at her window. Awoken by the sound, Lauren crawled out of bed to find an unfamiliar owl on the windowsill, flying into the dormitory as soon as Lauren opened the window. "No! Come down!" she hissed at it in a hushed whisper, and the owl landed on her bed, sticking out its leg to reveal a small note wrapped around it. Perplexed as to who would be sending her notes this late at night, she removed the note from the owl's leg and read it:

 _Lauren,_

 _Remus is missing. He's not in the dormitory. Meet on the seventh floor landing by the portrait of the fat lady._

 _\- James_

Lauren wondered why of all people, he wanted her to help him find his seemingly lost friend when he ought to go to his head of house, but having grown up with no friends, she didn't want to lose one just yet. Pulling on her handmade tartan robe made in the pattern of the Clan Murray tartan by a neighbour at home, she descended the staircase, finding a fifth year prefect, Sonia Orovcova, in the common room. She had to find a way to sneak past this prefect, so she pulled out her wand and summoned an apple from her dormitory, stepping from behind the stone wall to throw it into the corridor leading to the boys' dormitories. Sonia, upon hearing it land, went to investigate, which gave Lauren enough time to bolt from the corridor she was in and run out of the door. At first, she was certain there would be other prefects that she would have to avoid, but she was lucky to run into no others as she made her way to the seventh floor landing, where James was standing beside the portrait.

"What took you so long?" he asked, clearly distressed.

"There was a prefect in the common room. She'd have sent me back to my bed if she saw me," Lauren replied.

"Well, whatever, you're here now," James replied, and he turned to the portrait of the fat lady. "Weedosouros." Upon the pronunciation of the word, the portrait swung open, and Lauren entered the Gryffindor common room. It was octagonal, unlike the round Ravenclaw common room, and had far more red and gold than blue and silver. It was more medieval, while the Ravenclaw common room was more ethereal, and heavier than the light and airy Ravenclaw common room. There was a balcony looking over the common room sitting on top of a spiral set of stairs and two wooden doors were on either side of the balcony. "Enjoying the view?"

"It's smaller than I expected," Lauren replied. "Where do all of your big egos fit?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Seriously, Remus is missing-"

"I know Remus is missing!" cried Sirius, whom had not been paying attention until he heard what sounded like his name.

"No, I said _seriously_ -"

"I heard you!" James rolled his eyes, causing Lauren to laugh gently.

"Anyway, this is Peter Pettigrew," he said, referring to a round-faced, skinny looking boy sitting on the couch. He certainly looked like he had put on weight since Lauren saw him at the sorting ceremony about a week before. "He says that Remus hasn't been in the common room all day."

"And I'd know because I hide in there," little Peter chirped, flinching when James turned to him.

"Any particular reason you were hiding, Peter?" Lauren asked, already knowing the answer.

"N-no, not really... I'm just afraid of people," Peter replied meekly.

"Not the problem right now, Lauren. We need to find Remus," said James rather ambitiously.

"Why aren't you going to Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore about this?" Lauren asked him.

"That's what I said he should do!" Peter chirped proudly.

"Because what if he gets in trouble?" James said in response. "I don't care if Sirius or me gets in trouble, but Remus doesn't deserve it."

"Speak for yourself!" Sirius cried from the armchair beside the fireplace.

"Maybe he wandered into the forest. I know I've wanted to wander in there a few times. Maybe he did for real," said Lauren, pondering where Remus could possibly be. All she knew about him that he had not revealed were the fact that he wanted to know if Athena Scamander's notes on the lycanthropy antidote were in the restricted section and that he had a well hidden secret. Maybe...

"We might as well look," James said, interrupting Lauren's thoughts.

"But the forest is forbidden!" Peter cried fearfully. "You heard Professor Dumbledore at the welcome feast, no one is allowed in there! He said the consequences could be-"

"Consequences, schmonsequences. I don't care what happens so long as we find Remus," Sirius said, standing up and crossing the room to Lauren and James.

"Aunt Daisy used to tell me stories about the dangerous creatures in the forest," Lauren replied. "I'm sure they're based off of something. And Peter's right, there's a reason it's called the Forbidden Forest."

"I'm right?" asked Peter curiously, excited to have a point about something.

"What about the prefects though?" Sirius asked. "I don't care about getting in trouble but they do cause headaches."

"We could all probably fit under James's invisibility cloak, right James?" Lauren asked him, turning towards the dark-haired bespectacled boy.

"How do you know I have that?" James asked, rather confused. "Is this another legilimency thing."

"Legilimency is just as useful as my eyes, James. I saw you use it to scare Mary and Lily before class. Don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

"Hasn't the spell on that worn off yet though?" Sirius asked the group. "Invisibility cloaks only work for a short amount of time. I guess you could cast it again."

"This invisibility cloak is permanent. I don't know why or how because it's been in the family for a very long time. That's what Dad said when he gave it to me," James explained.

"Like the one in the story about the three brothers!" Lauren exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm surprised you know that one," James told her. "I'll go up and get it." He took a moment to run up the spiral staircase and into the boys' dormitory before emerging and returning back to the common room holding the cloak. "We'll need to stand close together in order for all of us to fit under the cloak. Peter, stay here and if we don't come back in two hours, go for help."

"Okay, but are you sure you should go out there?" asked Peter meekly, flinching again as James turned to him.

"It's the most important job," said Lauren suddenly, peaking Peter's curiosity. "It's your job to make sure we come back."

"I can do that," said Peter.

"Good, because before now, I didn't think you could do anything," Sirius said, and before anyone else could speak, James tossed the invisibility cloak over the three of them, making them disappear; Peter's eyes widened as he watched the portrait door swing open and then closed seemingly on its own. Quietly, the three of them made their way to the entrance hall, where a Hufflepuff prefect was standing guard. The three first years stood on the third floor landing of the Grand Staircase watching the prefect down below, pondering their next move.

"How do we get past the prefect?" James whispered to the other too.

"We could hex him," Sirius said, prompting a shove from James.

"Or, we could throw our voices," Lauren said.

"Throw our what?" asked Sirius.

"Like this," Lauren whispered, then raised her voice to a shout. "Help! Help!" The startled prefect jumped at the sound of Lauren's voice calling for help and then started bolting up the stairs. "Against the wall!" Lauren hissed, shoving James and Sirius against the wall as the prefect ran past them and up the stairs.

"Quickly now, hurry!" James whispered as they carefully ran down the staircase and out through the grand doors into the Entrance Courtyard. Once outside, James tried to remove the cloak, but Lauren stopped him.

"There's likely to be more," Lauren replied. "Wait until we get close to the forest." The group crossed the courtyard, entering the covered bridge and spotting yet another prefect walking along the bridge; this time, it was a Slytherin prefect.

"Can we hex this one?" Sirius whispered.

"I'm with him on this one," James muttered.

"You can't go around hexing every Slytherin you come across!" Lauren hissed. "I got past two, now it's your turns."

"I have a dungbomb in my pocket," said Sirius. "It's small so we'll have to get close to him but it should do the trick."

"Maybe we can throw it and get him to cast a spell on it," said James.

"That won't work!" Sirius hissed.

"Shh! Throw it, he's coming!" Lauren snapped, and Sirius threw the dungbomb into the courtyard, which was heard by the prefect. He went to investigate it, and James drew his wand, pointing it at the dungbomb and silently muttering the incantation of the knockback jinx, _flipendo_. The dungbomb, despite its size, gave off a rather large explosion and knocked the prefect off of his feet, disorienting him. "Laugh later, let's go!" Lauren hissed, and the three of them ran together across the covered bridge and onto the Hogwarts grounds.

The grounds were serene at night; bathed in moonlight from that evening's full moon, they were well lit. Lauren could easily watch her step and count the Moly plants that dotted the hilly landscape. In the distance, the owlery stood silhouetted against the night sky, where owls could be seen entering and leaving through the windows. Crickets chirped, owls hooted and the Black Lake lapped ever so gently against the bank. The leaves of the forest rustled gently in the midnight breeze, interrupted by the emanating sound of snore of the half-giant gamekeeper of Hogwarts, whom Lauren had not quite met yet save for the trip across the lake, in his hut. Rumour had it, Peter was quite fond of him. As they reached the edge of the forest, James pulled the invisibility cloak off of the three of them and stowed it over his shoulder. "Right, so we split up three ways. I'll go-"

"No," Lauren said, stopping him. "The forest is full of dangerous creatures and we're kids who have been here for barely a week. We split up, we die. We stick together and that's that."

"Fine, but that means we'll be out here longer," James replied.

"At least we'll be alive," Lauren retorted, and the three of them entered the forest together. It was evident that Sirius didn't like the forest much, as every snapping twig caused him to jump. "It's all right, Sirius. It's just twigs being walked on."

"But who's walking on them?" Sirius questioned in a shaky, frightened tone.

"Us, you prat," James said.

"Can't we use a light or somethi-"

" _Lumos_ ," said Lauren, a bright light emanating from the tip of her wand to light their path.

"I don't really like this... What kind of creatures are out here anyway? What did your Aunt Daisy say?" Sirius asked.

"Acromantulas, red caps, centaurs, the works," Lauren replied.

"Wh-what's an ack... an acru... mantu... What is that?" Sirius asked, stumbling over the word.

"A giant sentient spider," said Lauren matter-of-factly, and Sirius whined.

"I don't like giant spiders," said Sirius.

"What does sentient mean?" asked James.

"It means it can talk to us and can understand us," Lauren explained, causing another moan to emanate from Sirius's throat. "Shh... Listen." She'd thought she'd heard a howl of some type, but wasn't sure; through the silence of the dark abyss, a distant howl could be heard.

"Wh-wh-what was that?" asked Sirius, now terrified.

"It sounded like a-" James began, but another howl, now much closer, sounded. "-a WEREWOLF!" James quickly turned on his heel and bolted for the edge of the forest, Lauren and Sirius quick on his tail. Another howl, and the three first years ran faster and faster, now out of the forest and up the hill. Another howl as they passed the gamekeeper's hut and ran for the castle, running through the covered bridge and into the entrance courtyard, running through the grand oak doors and shoving the doors behind them closed. Struggling to catch their breath, they collapsed against the door. "My cloak! My invisibility cloak! It's gone!"

"You must have dropped it in the forest," Lauren said to him.

"We have to go back and get it!" James cried, his voice laced with fear and his hands trembling.

"Are you crazy? We're not going out there with that killer monster running around! I can't believe that thing is near a place where kids are!" Sirius cried.

"Well, he's only a werewolf once a month only at night when a majority of kids are asleep," Lauren explained.

"I don't care, it's still out there!" Sirius shouted.

"Remus is out there! He's out there with that thing, we can't leave him!" James cried, and he started to open the door.

"Rest assured, Mr. Potter, that Mr. Lupin is perfectly all right," came the gentle voice of Professor Dumbledore, dressed in purple robes with his long white beard resting calmly on top of them. "His illness carried him elsewhere, but he shall return by Monday. But it was very brave of you three to worried enough about him to go and look for him."

"Why is there a werewolf out there?" Sirius demanded, still frightened from the ordeal.

"There are no werewolves on Hogwarts property, Mr. Black," Dumbledore assured him. "Now, you three should return to your common rooms and get some much needed sleep. I am sure that an ordeal such as this is quite exhausting. Goodnight." Dumbledore waited until they moved away from the door and started up the staircase, the frightened and now suspicious first years glancing back at him as they climbed. After several moments of silence as they climbed the stairs, Lauren spoke.

"You know, I think Peter is being abused at home," she said suddenly.

"Wait, what?" asked James, confused at this sudden outburst. "What do you mean? Did you read his mind?"

"I'll explain it some other time. Just be kind to him, won't you? He seemed thrilled to be a part of something tonight," Lauren told him as they stopped by the portrait of the fat lady. "Here's where I leave you. I'll see you two in the morning." James and Sirius watched as she climbed to another landing and disappeared into the Ravenclaw tower, confused, perplexed, still frightened, and now concerned.


	8. Hope, Fear and Wiggenweld

The passage of time began to touch Hogwarts around the third week of September, when summer turned into autumn. The air was warm, but the scent of a crisp chill began to waft over the castle, signalling that Hogwarts was in for quite a cold winter. Remus did eventually return late Sunday night, exhausted and covered in fresh new scratches. James and Sirius questioned him, but Remus insisted that he was scratched by a crazy patient at St. Mungo's, the magical hospital located in London. Lauren later asked why he didn't go to the closer St. Gillygotter's Hospital in Edinburgh, but Remus said that St. Mungo's was closer to home (did he forget about St. Gwynedd's in Cardiff? That certainly was much closer to Remus's Welsh home). Lauren decided to let it go, but she was becoming increasingly suspicious of him. An interest in her grandmother's notes on a lycanthropy antidote, disappearing on the night of a full moon and reappearing once it had passed, fresh scratches the following day? How could anyone not see how clearly obvious Remus's condition was? Even his name had a connotation in relation to wolves! But alas, it was only a theory - that is, until the next full moon came and went in early October, and the same curious illness ailed Remus once more. It was then that she wrote home asking for Athena Scamander's notes.

Within a couple of days, Lauren received another letter from her mother, again written only in Scottish Gaelic, asking why Lauren wanted the notes. Lauren understood her mother's hesitance in sending Lauren the notes, as Lauren was an eleven-year-old living in a dormitory with five other students and anyone could go through her stuff and take Athena's notes. However, Lauren insisted that she would keep them safe and that she would keep them hidden. The castle was full of safe spots for Lauren to hide them when she didn't need them, she would just have to find them. Artemis then agreed, but said that Daisy would bring them to her in a parcel rather than deliver them by owl, as Daisy would be meeting with Professor Dumbledore soon anyway.

It was mid-October when Daisy Ridley arrived at Hogwarts to meet with Dumbledore. Lauren knew the meeting had something to do with Artemis, but still being only a child, Lauren was spared many of the details. It irritated Lauren to no end that she wasn't allowed to know or have a better understanding of the situation that she and her mother were in, but she had tried arguing her point and she just wasn't going to win. Artemis explained that Professor Dumbledore thought it best that she enjoy the few years of adolescence that she had left, even though Lauren insisted she had already lost those years a long time ago. Either way, she was in the dark about Daisy's meeting with Professor Dumbledore. She was to meet Daisy in the entrance courtyard, where Professor Dumbledore's Office was located. Marlene, Elizabeth, Lily, Melanie and Sabrina were with her, as they were reading a book on the Wiggentree for an essay they needed to write for Herbology, when Daisy spotted the young Ravenclaw and called out to her.

" _Annwyl_!" she called to young Lauren, who recognised Daisy's voice and saw the middle-aged brown-haired witch walking towards her with open arms.

"Aunt Daisy!" Lauren cried, setting the book aside and jumping up to hug her much beloved aunt. Sabrina and Melanie were in awe at seeing the real Daisy Ridley that their parents had told them all about.

"How are you, _fy nhalaidd_? How are your classes? And how's that little green devil of yours?" Daisy asked her once Lauren had broken the hug.

"Pickett's fine! As for my classes, they're all right. Everyone's asking about Mum," Lauren replied.

"I can imagine. Some of them taught her like Professor Slughorn, some of them went to school with her like Professor Sprout and some of them only know her from meetings with Professor Dumbledore like Professor McGonagall," Daisy explained. "Who are your friends, _annwyl_?"

"This is Elizabeth Hawking, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Melanie Janeway and Sabrina Jameson," Lauren explained. "Melanie and Sabrina say their parents knew you in school."

"Let's see, Jameson and Janeway... Jameson doesn't sound familiar, but Janeway... Is Mitchell Janeway your father, dear?" asked Daisy, not knowing that Melanie had told Lauren that she had dated Mitchell Janeway.

"Yup," said Melanie. "He's told me all about you."

"Mitchell was always so kind. Do tell him I said hello for me," Daisy said, then she looked at Sabrina. "And you... you remind me of Margaret Lewis, are you related to her?"

"She's my mother," said Sabrina. "She married a muggle and that's why my last name isn't familiar to you!"

"Ah, Margaret Lewis. That woman always had a passion for muggle studies so that doesn't surprise me," said Daisy. "Do tell her I said hello as well." She then turned to Lauren, placing a hand on the first year's shoulder. "I'd best be getting off now, but I did bring a parcel from your mother." She reached into her bag, which had been hanging off of her shoulder, and pulled out a parcel wrapped in brown paper. "Now take good care of these, _annwyl_. Mum would be very upset if these got out lost or damaged."

"I know. I already promised her I would take care of them," Lauren replied.

"Excellent, now take care of yourself, _annwyl_ and I expect another letter at the end of the week, all right? I love hearing all about your classes and your friends and everything," Daisy told her, and with one final hug, Daisy went off towards Professor Dumbledore's office, Lauren watching her and then rejoining the group of girls.

"What'd she give you?" asked Elizabeth curiously.

"Just some reading material," Lauren replied. "It's been in the family for a while so Mum wants me to take excellent care of it. Now, back to the properties of the Wiggentree!" A groan emanated from Elizabeth's mouth, as she absolutely hated doing homework.

* * *

"I joined a club where we just talk about things, I think muggles call it therapy," Sabrina was explaining to Melanie in the Great Hall the following morning, describing the club in great detail. "It was started by a Hufflepuff muggleborn a couple of years ago and he's now Head Boy this year, so someone else is going to lead the group next year and anyone from any house can join. It's mostly Hufflepuffs. But anyway, last night, we talked about fear and why it drives us and we started the conversation with what each of us feared most..."

Elizabeth Hawking walked by the two chattering young Hufflepuffs when she overheard this part of their conversation, thinking about how she would answer the question when she spotted, sitting at one of the tables, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus and Lauren, deciding to join them. "Hi everyone," she said as she sat down beside James, who was beside Lauren and across from the other three boys. "Just a question for thought, what is it that you all fear?"

"Why are you asking us this?" asked Sirius, confused as to why Elizabeth of all people would ask such a question.

"I don't know, I guess it just sort of came to mind," Elizabeth replied. "For me, it's blood. Blood always means something bad is happening, like a stab wound or something getting you from the inside. I've never liked blood. It's always unsettled me."

"Not all blood is bad," Lauren replied. "Babies are born with a little bit of blood on them and that's bringing new life into the world."

"How do you know about how babies are born?" Sirius asked Lauren.

"Mum needed a job where we live since we live among muggles and she met a midwife and learned the art of midwifery. I've been learning it a bit, too, and Mum says when I'm older, I can become one, too."

"What would you want to become a midwife for? We have healers for that," James said to her.

"As long as Voldemort is around, I'll be living among muggles. I might as well adopt a job of theirs," Lauren replied. "Back to the discussion, I've always feared dementors. I read a book about them when I was very young and they gave me nightmares. My life has been full of all kinds of misfortunes and such and I wouldn't want one of my few happy memories to be sucked out of me by one of them."

"That's very... deep," Elizabeth replied. "What about you, Peter?"

"M-me?" Peter stuttered. "Well... I don't like death at all. Death scares me."

"You said that to the Sorting Hat, too, and the hat said you were lying," James retorted.

"Yeah, Peter, what is it that you really fear?" Sirius prompted him. Peter was silent for a moment before muttering something under his breath. "What was that?"

"Pain," Peter said, a bit louder this time. "I know what it's like to feel pain, and I don't want to feel pain anymore." The group was silent for a moment, understanding what Peter was saying but not wanting to say anything about it.

"How about you, Sirius? What do you fear?" Lauren asked, breaking the silence.

"It's kind of silly actually," Sirius said.

"Fears aren't silly," James told him. "Is it werewolves?" Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren saw Remus shift uncomfortably.

"Nah, but werewolves are terrifying. Actually, I fear my mother because she yells at me and insults me and hurts me," Sirius said casually. "How about you, James? What are you afraid of, huh?"

"Losing my parents," James said confidently. "My parents have always been there for me my entire life. I don't know what I would do without them."

"That's sweet," Lauren said.

"What about you, Remus? You've been quiet. What do you fear?" Sirius asked the scratched up, tired-looking boy beside him.

"The moon," Remus replied.

"The moon?" asked Sirius, and he laughed, and then James laughed, and then Peter laughed and so did Elizabeth.

"It isn't funny!" Remus said. "Bad things always happen under a full moon! Vampires come out and bad potions can be made-"

"And werewolves come out," Sirius said through laughter.

"...yeah. That too," said Remus meekly. "I don't feel very well. I'm gonna go ask Madame Pomfrey for some Pepperup potion." Remus stood and left, the group watching him as he left the Great Hall.

"It isn't funny to laugh at someone's fears," Lauren told them. "Maybe something really bad happened to him under a full moon and you'd never know, you'd rather laugh at him. I'm going to go and see if he's all right." Lauren, too, got up and followed Remus out of the Great Hall, leaving the remaining members of the group sitting there confused about the interaction. "Remus! Remus, wait!" Remus stopped on the Grand Staircase and turned to face her as she climbed the steps. "Don't listen to them, your fears are justified."

"I have many reasons to not like the moon..." Remus said.

"Oh I'm sure you do," Lauren said as they continued up the stairs and entered the fourth floor corridor, where the Hospital Wing was located. There weren't many students around, which Lauren was grateful for. "So I've noticed you always seem to fall ill around the full moon..."

"A healer told me that I have a condition called Lunacitis where-" Remus began, but Lauren cut him off.

"There is no such condition," she said, then she lowered her voice. "You don't have to lie to me Remus, I've worked it out." His eyes went wide as she confronted him about his condition.

"How did you..."

"Please, you're ill around every full moon and you disappear for a couple of days and once the full moon has passed, you return covered in fresh scratches and looking clearly worn out. I'm surprised no one else has worked it out."

"Are you gonna tell people?" Remus was clearly frightened of Lauren having this knowledge.

"No. It isn't my news to tell. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want you to have to be alone in this. I can't imagine how you manage it alone."

"I mean, I have Professor Dumbledore and he's been a big help..."

"Is he there for you during the transformations?"

"No... and I don't want you there, either. Or anyone else." Remus glances around and lowers his voice. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Well... I suppose that's a good reason, then. Anyway, I sent for something about a week ago and thought I'd show it to you." Lauren reached into her bag and pulled out the parcel that Daisy had given her. "This parcel contains the notes that my grandmother made when she was experimenting with finding a cure for lycanthropy. I don't think that I can finish what my grandmother started, but maybe Professor Slughorn can."

"Really? Do you think there really is a cure for... my condition?"

"I don't know about a cure but I'm sure there's a way to at least make dealing with it easier. We'll ask Professor Slughorn after class tomorrow if there's anything he can do, okay?" Remus nodded.

"Thank you for being honest with me, and for showing me this. I actually feel a bit better about this knowing that now there's someone I can talk to."

"You won't be able to hide this from the others forever, Remus. Sooner or later, they'll catch on."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. They've already asked me and I told them I had Lunacitis."

"And they believed you?" Remus nodded. "Bloody idiots." Remus let out a laugh.

"Better that than them knowing about my condition," Remus said as his tone turned sad. "You heard Sirius, he hates werewolves."

"Maybe he'll get more mature in a couple of years. I think James would be rather accepting."

"He hates Slytherins, though. And if Sirius isn't mature enough then James isn't either."

"He'd be accepting of you but not if a Slytherin student was a werewolf. That's just how he is. I suppose when you're raised prejudice, it's hard to get it out."

"Sirius was raised prejudiced against anyone who isn't a pureblood, and look at him." Lauren paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Maybe James will prove us wrong," she said suddenly. "I've got to go and do some work, but we can ask Professor Slughorn after class tomorrow morning if he can help us with the potion. How's that sound?"

"Hopeful," Remus replied. "Almost too good to be true."

"Maybe so, but only time will tell, as my Aunt Daisy always says. I'll see you later, Remus," Lauren said, and she left Remus with a bit of warmth in his stomach. If Professor Slughorn can brew a cure for lycanthropy, Remus will never become a monster ever again. And that was enough to keep him floating on air for the rest of the day.

* * *

Early the following morning, Lauren joined her young Gryffindor friends at the empty seat beside them. Peter was eagerly sitting beside James simply excited to be there, James was resting his face in his palm with exhaustion in his eyes, Remus was reviewing notes from the last lesson and Sirius was fast asleep with his head down on the table. "Morning, lads," she said to the boys, and all but Sirius turned their attention to her.

"Hi, Lauren!" said Peter enthusiastically, equally happy to be friends with Lauren McGwyn as he was to be friends with James Potter. James groaned in response and Remus looked up and smiled at her before returning to his notes; Sirius snored peacefully.

"Jeez, you're all perky this morning, aren't you?" Lauren asked them.

"We were up late planning a prank," James said sleepily.

"I helped!" Peter said enthusiastically.

"I went to bed at a normal hour," Remus said matter-of-factly. Sirius stirred in his sleep.

"Hopefully by 'prank', you mean some harmless joke," said Lauren.

"It involves frogspawn soap and the Prefects' bathroom," James told her. Suddenly, Sirius picked his head up and, with his eyes still closed, started to speak.

"Why is James spelled with an 's' at the end? Why is it plural? Like more than one Jame. How many James?" he said sleepily.

"Go back to sleep, Sirius," Remus said as he studied his notes.

"Okay, Sirius," Sirius responded, and his head plopped back down onto the table. Shortly after, Professor Slughorn entered the classroom and enthusiastically greeted his class.

"Good morning, students! How wonderful to see all of your wonderful faces so bright and early!" he said cheerfully. "I do hope you have studied your notes because we will be brewing the Wiggenweld potion today from memory as your exam. If you finish early, you may clean up early and leave early. You know where to find the ingredients. Good luck to you all!"

"Wait, what?" said James, startled. "Since when did we have an exam?"

"Since Friday when Professor Slughorn announced it, James," Lauren told him. "It's all right, Remus and I know what we're doing at least. We can help you. Let's start with the ingredients." The ingredients for the Wiggenweld potion included Horklump juice, Flobberworm mucus, Chizpurfle fangs, Billywig sting slime, a sprig of mint, Boom Berry juice, one stewed Mandrake, sloth brain mucus, Moondew drops, salamander blood, lionfish spines, unicorn horn and wolfsbane. Many of the ingredients were added into the initial mix, producing a dark green-coloured potion.

"Now, you add salamander blood until the potion turns red," Remus said as he added the drops from a bottle, and the rest followed; Sirius, who was now awake, stirred his potion quite sleepily, dozing off a little, not waiting until the potion was red. "Stir it until it turns orange." The table complied, and four out of five potions turned orange. Sirius's was more of a burgundy colour.

"Why isn't mine orange?" Sirius asked, annoyed.

"Because you didn't add enough salamander blood before stirring," Remus told him.

"You'll be able to fix it by adding more honeywater later," James told him.

"Honeywater? That isn't in the ingredients," Lauren replied.

"No but my dad puts it in our Wiggenweld potions and it makes them stronger," James responded.

"Should we deviate from the instructions?" asked Remus.

"You guys can do what you want but I'm adding honeywater," James said. "Now we add more salamander blood, right?"

"Will that fix my potion?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius, your potion is a lost cause and you should probably start over," James replied.

"No way, I'll accept the T and go back to bed," Sirius said, cleaning up his potion and walking towards the door.

"Don't forget about Defense Against the Dark Arts at eleven!" Remus called after him, but Sirius didn't respond. "He's not going to show up."

"When do I stop adding salamander blood?" asked Peter, who had been adding salamander blood the entire time.

"When it turns yellow, and then you stir it until it turns green," Lauren replied.

"Oh... Mine is already green..." Peter said. "Can I save it?"

"Just keep adding blood until it turns turquoise," James told him as he did so. "Then heat it until it turns a dark blue."

"How do you know when it's dark enough?" asked Peter.

"Indigo is the right colour," Lauren said.

"I'm colour blind," said Peter, and James laughed. "That explains a lot. I'm surprised you've gotten this far. Stop heating it now, you're good."

"Now add more blood until it turns pink, then heat it until it turns red which should take I think about thirty seconds, and then add five lionfish spines," Lauren instructed.

"It's thirty seconds in a silver cauldron like you have," James told her. "For us normal pewter users, it's a minute longer."

"No, it's a minute and fifteen seconds," Remus corrected him.

"I'm telling you, it's a minute and thirty. Time it," James responded.

"Or, you can just heat it until it turns red," Lauren told them, interrupting their argument.

"I'm still colour blind," piped up Peter.

"You can stop, Peter. Yours is red. Now add five lionfish spines," Lauren told him. "Now heat it until it turns yellow, which I'll tell you when to stop... good... that's good, you can stop now. Add five more lionfish spines."

"Potions are so complicated," Peter said. "When does the honeywater come in?"

"You don't have to add honeywater, Peter," Remus told him. "I'm not adding it."

"Well, I still am," James said. "Don't stir it yet, Rem. You have to add the flobberworm mucus. What colour will it turn again?"

"I think purple," Remus replied, picking up his bottle of flobberworm mucus and adding it to his cauldron. "Then you stir it until it turns... red... I think... and then add more flobberworm mucus until it turns... until it turns..."

"Yellow," Lauren said.

"Yes, yellow," Remus said, and the group followed the instructions.

"Now add the honeywater until it turns turquoise," James said, adding honeywater to his potion.

"I'm not adding honeywater," Remus said.

"I will, pass it over here," Lauren said, then she added honeywater to her potion. "Now some more boom berry juice-"

"I thought we were done with the boom berry juice!" Peter exclaimed, panicking.

"No, not yet. Why?" asked Lauren.

"Well... I used it all when I was adding other ingredients..." Peter confessed.

"That's alright, Pete, you can use some of mine. My dad says to use less boom berry juice when adding the initial ingredients anyway," James said, passing his bottle of boom berry juice over.

"Now we stir it twice, and let it simmer for thirty minutes," Remus said.

"That's a lot of time to sit here," James said. "I'm going to take a small nap. Wake me up in thirty minutes."

"Okay, James!" exclaimed Peter, now staring at his watch.

"Remus, do you want to go and talk to Professor Slughorn now while we wait?" Lauren asked Remus, who appeared confused.

"Can we? Right now?" he asked, and Lauren nodded. "All right..." The pair of them made their way to Professor Slughorn's desk, far enough away from the earshot of other students.

"Is my potion supposed to be this colour?" Elizabeth asked her table, which consisted of herself, Lily, Mary, Severus Snape and Ophelia Rosier, a Slytherin girl in their year.

"Try adding honeywater. Maybe that'll fix it," said Severus.

"I don't remember that being in the book," said Lily inquisitively.

"Not everything you do has to be by the book," Severus replied. Lauren and Remus reached Professor Slughorn's desk.

"Finished already? How remarkable!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Not quite, professor," Lauren explained. "We have a question for you, or rather, Remus has a question for you."

"Certainly, my boy. What is it, then? Go on!" Professor Slughorn encouraged.

"I was wondering if... if maybe, if... Could you help us brew a potion that can cure lycanthropy? It-it's for my sister. Who doesn't go here. For... obvious... reasons," Remus stuttered.

"A cure for lycanthropy? My boy, don't be silly. Such a potion doesn't exist-"

"I have the notes that my grandmother made when she was attempting the potion," Lauren said, pulling the notes out of her bag and handing them to Professor Slughorn, who appeared flabbergasted and excited.

"My gosh, my gosh! Athena Scamander's notes! Her real notes! Goodness, I'd always heard she scribbled ferociously!" he exclaimed, his gooseberry-coloured eyes lighting up brilliantly. "I'm afraid I cannot help you, my boy. However, a third year student in my Slug Club may be exceptionally brilliant enough to help you. Which I would love to have you join, my dear Lauren - my apologies, Mr. Lupin - anywho, this student's name is Damocles Belby. Perhaps he can help you."

"I know him. He's in my house," Lauren said. "I can ask him later at supper."

"Brilliant! Best of luck to you both and my boy, I hope Mr. Belby can help your sister. Lycanthropy is a terrible curse to have," Professor Slughorn said to the two young students.

"Got that right," Remus said. They thanked him once more before returning to their potions, finding that they were finished and ready to be turned in. Peter was shaking James awake when they returned.

"Huh? Did I win?" he muttered sleepily.

"No but your potion is done," Peter squeaked joyfully. The group turned in their potions and left their class with an hour to spare before their next class.


End file.
